Systems and methods for connecting and controlling configurable lighting units

ABSTRACT

In some embodiments, a configurable lighting device, connectors, controllers, and methods for layout detection are provided. The configurable lighting devices, suitably connected, form an assembly of configurable lighting devices that can be removably connected with one another and re-arranged. Connectors are provided that form mechanical and electrical connections between configurable lighting devices such that a flow of electricity and control signals may be propagated without the need for direct connection between every configurable lighting device and a controller. The controller or devices connected to the controller are configured to perform layout detection such that pleasing visualizations may be rendered across the assembly that are rendered using at least the detected layout. When the configuration of the configurable lighting devices changes, the layout detection is automatically updated.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of illumination,and more particularly, to features associated with configurableillumination devices including connectors for connecting theillumination devices, layout detection, and visualizations based onexternal stimuli.

INTRODUCTION

Light emitting structures are desirable, including those that may beconfigured in a variety of shapes and forms. A luminaire is a device forlighting, which has at least of a source of light, electrical andmechanical components to operate the source and distribute the generatedlight, as well as components to manage the heat it all generates.

Lighting design is a part of architecture and interior design thatteaches how to place different types of luminaires in rooms or spaces ingeneral such that the lighting as a whole best serves the purpose of thespace.

The light-emitting diode (LED) technology enables new ways to make anddesign light. For example, LEDs can be created to emit specific colorsof light, such as red, blue, green, amber. By mixing these base colorsto varying degrees, luminaires can be built that create light ofdifferent warmth, that enhance the shine and spark of colorful artworkor clothing, or that interact with the human visual system in ways thatare adapted to time of day, or to the specific health needs of the user.

At a microscopic level, LEDs are a form of semiconductor. Therefore,they can integrate with other microelectronics, such as digitalmicroprocessors that can execute software instructions. Consequently,luminaires that use LEDs can be controlled to a very detailed degree viainternal and external logic commands. Finally, LEDs are smallsolid-state components. They can be fitted into structures and theluminaire can be designed in new shapes and forms.

SUMMARY

In an aspect, there is provided a lighting system including an assemblyformed by a plurality of configurable lighting units remove-ably coupledtogether using one or more connectors, the plurality of configurablelighting units forming one or more continuous shapes that arereconfigurable through re-arrangement of the plurality of configurablelighting units; each configurable lighting unit of the one or moreconfigurable lighting units having one or more connectable subsectionsincluding at least an aperture for receiving a corresponding connectorof the one or more connectors; each connector of the one or moreconnectors insertable into a first aperture of a first configurablelighting unit and a second aperture of a second configurable lightingunit, the connector including: one or more mechanical connections thatcooperate with structural characteristics of the first aperture or thesecond aperture such that the first configurable lighting unit and thesecond configurable lighting unit, and one or more electricalconnections enabling a flow of electricity between the firstconfigurable lighting unit and the second configurable lighting unit;and a power source connectable to a configurable lighting unit of theassembly, the plurality of configurable lighting units electricallycoupled together through the one or more connectors such that no morethan one configurable lighting unit is required to be connected to thepower source when powering every configurable lighting unit of theplurality of configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, at least one connector of the one or more connectorsincludes circuitry for enabling data transmission between the two ormore configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are formed byfrictional engagement of the connector with either the first aperture orthe second aperture, the structural characteristics resisting shearingmovement of the connector and permitting movement along an insertionaxis that is perpendicular to the shearing movement.

In another aspect, both the first aperture and the second apertureinclude one or more protrusions adapted to impart a force between theconnector and the first aperture and the second aperture, improving thefrictional engagement to resist removal of connector from either thefirst aperture or the second aperture along the insertion axis.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are configuredto resist shear forces with a plane of the connectable subsections up toa threshold of irreversible damage of either the mechanical connectionor the corresponding connectable subsection.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are eachconfigured to, responsive to a separating force perpendicular to theplane of the connectable subsections greater than a resistive forceformed by cooperation of the one or more mechanical connections with thestructural characteristics of the first aperture or the second aperture,permit reversible separation of the two or more connected configurablelighting units by a user.

In another aspect, the data transmission includes a signal thatinstructs one or more of the lighting units in the assembly to changeone or more drive currents to one or more light-emitting diodes of theone or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the data transmission includes a signal that encodesaudio retrieved by a transducer.

In another aspect, the data transmission includes a signal that encodesfor motion detection by perturbation to an expected radiation pattern.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are actuatedby an attractive magnetic force that pulls a rigid body from a firstconfigurable lighting unit into an aperture of a second configurablelighting unit, the one or more mechanical connections in combinationwith the attractive magnetic force providing the stable physicalcoupling between the two or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the rigid body is held inside the first lighting unitby a spring when zero or below designed threshold magnetic force isacting on the rigid body.

In another aspect, the actuation establishes the one or more electricalconnections by coupling of two or more conductive materials, the two ormore conductive materials permitting the flow of electricity between thetwo or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the actuation establishes a connection for datatransmission by the joining of two or more conductive materials.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are formed bymagnetic attraction between one or more magnets that are configured tomove between discrete compartments within each configurable lightingunit, and the one or more magnets exerting magnetic force through eachconfigurable lighting unit being formed of a material of magneticpermeability nearly identical to air such that an attractive force isformed between two or more configurable lighting units in near proximityto each other.

In another aspect, the one or more configurable lighting units aremanufactured to include at least one of plastic, copper, wood, andaluminum.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are formed byway of insertion of a secondary component of material into two femaleconnectors at the connectable subsections of the first configurablelighting unit and the second configurable lighting unit; and thesecondary component includes a compressible component that, uponjoining, provides a constraining force to resist a separating force.

In another aspect, the secondary component is a printable circuit boardthat, in addition to providing the one or more mechanical connections,further provides the one or more electrical connections and one or moredata connection between the two or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the compressible component includes bent sheet metalthat, upon compression, elastically deforms such that the compressiblecomponent locks into a compatible indentation part of the correspondingaperture of the corresponding configurable lighting unit.

In another aspect, each configurable lighting unit is a substantiallyflat surface of a transparent or semitransparent material shaped as apolygon; and wherein each side of the polygon are flat subsections thatform the two or more connectable subsections.

In another aspect, the polygon is an equilateral triangle.

In another aspect, the transparent or semitransparent material ispolymethyl methacrylate or polycarbonate.

In another aspect, light is injected into the substantially flat surfaceby a plurality of light-emitting diodes; and the light is diffusedthroughout the material of the flat surface by scattering; and a subsetof the scattering events causes the light to exit the substantially flatsurface into an environment.

In another aspect, the scattering is caused by an addition ofmicroscopic surface imperfection on the substantially flat surface ofeach configurable lighting unit.

In another aspect, the plurality of light-emitting diodes includeslight-emitting diodes that generate light of different colors.

In another aspect, the polygon is a rectangle.

In another aspect, each connector is configured to further includecircuitry to sequentially propagate electricity flow and control signalsbetween sets of coupled configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the sequential propagation of the electricity flowand the control signals is utilized to transmit control signals to andfrom a controller, the controller being directly coupled to only one ofthe configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the sequential propagation of the electricity flowand the control signals is utilized to transmit electricity from acontroller housing the power source, the controller being directlycoupled to only one of the configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the controller further comprises a visualization unitconfigured for generating control signals including lightingcharacteristic instructions for rendering one or more visualizationeffects across the assembly, the one or more visualization effects basedat least on a detected layout of the assembly, and the control signals,upon propagation to the each configurable lighting unit, causing eachconfigurable lighting unit to modify one or more characteristics ofillumination provided by the corresponding configurable lighting unit.

In another aspect, the controller includes one or more interactivephysical elements which, upon actuation, initiate or modify therendering of the one or more visualization effects.

In another aspect, the controller includes a networking interface, thenetworking interface coupled to one or more remote computing systems;and wherein upon receiving one or more electronic instructions from thenetworking interface, the controller initiates or modifies the renderingof the one or more visualization effects.

In another aspect, there is provided a method for layout detectionperformed by a controller coupled to an assembly of configurablelighting units, the method comprising: deriving an array of integersbased on data indicative of coupling characteristics between individualconfigurable the assembly through a set of one or more physicalconnections, such that any two potential assemblies that aregeometrically distinct apart from of translation or rigid-body rotationgenerates distinct arrays of integers, and such that any two potentialassemblies that are geometrically indistinct following translation orrigid-body rotation, generates identical arrays of integers; storing thearray of integers in a data structure encapsulated in non-transitorycomputer readable media residing on or in communication with thecontroller.

In another aspect, the data on how the individual configurable lightingunits are coupled is provided as an array of pairs of indices thatindicate (i) which two configurable lighting units in the assembly thatare joined together and by which side of the corresponding configurablelighting units they join, where the portion of the index that denotesthe configurable lighting unit is unique within the assembly, and wherethe portion of the index that denotes the side of the configurablelighting unit is ordered in a manner such that the order is invertedupon a mirror transformation in a plane orthogonal to the plane of theconfigurable lighting unit.

In another aspect, the ordering of the portion of the index that denotesthe side of the lighting unit is a gradual increase of the index asneighboring sides are traversed in a clockwise manner, up until allsides have been traversed.

In another aspect, the manner of ordering the portion of the index thatdenotes the side of the lighting unit is a gradual increase of the indexas neighboring sides are traversed in a counterclockwise manner, upuntil all sides have been traversed.

In another aspect, the array of pairs of indices is represented as amatrix.

In another aspect, the index that denotes the configurable lighting unitwithin the assembly is assigned during manufacturing and stored in thenon-transitory computer readable media.

In another aspect, the index that denotes the configurable lighting unitwithin the assembly is assigned as part of an logical initializationprocess of the assembly and stored in either non-volatile or volatilecomputer readable memories.

In another aspect, the portion of the index that denotes the side of theconfigurable lighting unit that is joined to another lighting unit iscommunicated across the physical connection as a set voltage that ismapped to an ordered index through one or more logical rules executed ona processor.

In another aspect, the portion of the index that denotes the side of theconfigurable lighting unit that is joined to another configurablelighting unit is communicated across a physical connection of the set ofthe one or more physical connections as a data string that is mapped toan ordered index through one or more logical rules executed on aprocessor.

In another aspect, the array of integers is updated in real or near-realtime as one or more new configurable lighting units are added to theassembly or as one or more configurable lighting units are removed fromthe assembly.

In another aspect, the updating of the array of integers is triggered bypolling the one or more connections of the assembly to discover that theone or more connections have changed from a previous polling instance.

In another aspect, the updating of the array of integers is triggered byan interrupt signal communicated from a specific connection point thatis altered by the addition or the removal of a configurable lightingunit.

In another aspect, each of the physical connections is formed by one ormore bridging sections of one or more printed circuit boards that isadapted to transfer data between different configurable lighting unitsin the assembly.

In another aspect, each of the physical connections is formed by one ormore rigid bodies inserted from a first configurable lighting unit intoan aperture of a second configurable lighting unit, each of rigid bodyforming at least one contact that conducts electricity for data transferbetween the first configurable lighting unit and the second configurablelighting unit.

In another aspect, the array of integers is transferred wirelessly to adevice with a display interface screen; and the array of integers isinversely translated to coordinates for the graphical representation onthe screen or a projection of the individual configurable lighting unitsin the assembly, where the graphical representation is geometricallyidentical to the assembly, excluding translations, scaling andrigid-body rotation.

In another aspect, the wireless transmission is performed across a Wi-Fiprotocol.

In another aspect, responsive to the addition of the configurablelighting unit to the assembly, a new interrupt signal is generated bythe added configurable lighting unit and propagated to the controllerthrough a subset of the set of the one or more physical connections, thesubset forming a communication path from the added configurable lightingunit to the controller.

In another aspect, responsive to the removal of the configurablelighting unit to the assembly, a new interrupt signal is generated by aconfigurable lighting unit previously coupled to the removedconfigurable lighting unit and propagated to the controller through asubset of the set of the one or more physical connections, the subsetforming a communication path from the configurable lighting unitpreviously coupled to the removed configurable lighting unit to thecontroller.

In another aspect, the display interface screen includes one or moreinteractive visual elements, which when interacted with, cause thecontroller to generate control signals responsive to one or more changesin a visualization being rendered on the assembly by the one or moreconfigurable lighting units in cooperation with one another.

In another aspect, there is provided a lighting device providing aplurality of coupled lighting components automatically controlled inaccordance with an audio signal, the lighting device comprising: anaudio receiver configured to provide a digital audio representationbased at least on the audio signal; the plurality of coupled lightingcomponents coupled in a physical arrangement, each of the plurality ofthe coupled lighting components being configured to emit individuallycontrollable light, individually controllable in accordance with one ormore received lighting activation instructions; a geometry monitoringunit configured to maintain an electronic representation of the physicalarrangement based on sensed rearrangements of the physical arrangementor change events occurring in relation to the physical arrangement, theelectronic representation including at least linkages indicative ofgeospatial relations between coupled lighting components of theplurality of coupled lighting components; an audio visualization unitconfigured to provide a plurality of lighting activation instructionsgenerated in accordance with the digital audio representation, theplurality of lighting activation instructions comprising timedinstruction sets representative of at least one of (i) a colorcoordinate, (ii) an intensity level, and (iii) a desired geometricposition of the lighting activation; a geometry association unitconfigured, for each lighting activation instruction, to select anindividual coupled lighting component of the plurality of the coupledlighting components based at least on querying of the electronicrepresentation of the physical arrangement; a lighting controller unitfor individually controlling each of the coupled lighting components inaccordance with the plurality of lighting activation instructions tocause a geometric visualization effect to be co-operatively displayedacross one or more coupled lighting components of the plurality ofcoupled lighting components.

In another aspect, the lighting device further comprises an audiovisualization conversion unit configured for mapping or transforming theplurality of lighting activation instructions into one or more drivecurrent instructions that are included in one or more control signalsused to control each of the plurality of coupled lighting components,the one or more drive current instructions being processed by the eachof the plurality of coupled lighting components to modifycharacteristics of the emitted light.

In another aspect, the mapping or transforming is provided throughreference to a lookup structure, and the audio visualization conversionunit is further configured to, upon a determination that a mapping ortransformation is not represented in the lookup structure, perform aninterpolation between at least two nearby color coordinates present inthe lookup structure.

In another aspect, the mapping or transforming utilizes a calibrationsequence whereby a secondary device is utilized to record an opticalspectrum for one or more given drive current settings, the recordedoptical spectrum utilized in downstream processing to generate areference structure for the mapping or the transforming of the pluralityof lighting activation instructions into the one or more drive currentinstructions.

In another aspect, the geometry monitoring unit is further configured toperiodically determine a center of geometry of the physical arrangement,the center of geometry being used to assign an individual coupledlighting component as a center device, the assignment of the centerdevice being used by the electronic representation of the physicalarrangement as a reference index value to identify coupled lightingcomponents based on a corresponding degree of separation from the centerdevice.

In another aspect, the audio visualization unit is configured togenerate path-based lighting activation instructions where the pluralityof lighting activation instructions include at least visuallyrepresenting a geometric pattern that traverses a path through the oneor more coupled lighting components.

In another aspect, the physical arrangement is represented in acoordinate system selected from the group of coordinate systemsconsisting of 2-D Cartesian coordinates, 3-D Cartesian coordinates,polar coordinates, cylindrical coordinates, and spherical coordinates.

In another aspect, the physical arrangement is represented in aconnected graph system selected from the group of connected graphsystems consisting of an adjacency matrix, an adjacency list, and adistance matrix.

In another aspect, the geometry monitoring unit is further configured tomaintain a coordinate dictionary based at least on the connected graphsystem, the coordinate dictionary queried by the geometry associationunit in selecting the individual coupled lighting component.

In another aspect, the coordinate dictionary is modified through inputsignals received from an interface device.

In another aspect, the coordinate dictionary is emulated and output on adisplay interface.

In another aspect, the physical arrangement is approximated as anellipsoid shape determined through at least an evaluation of thecovariance of coordinate elements of the plurality of coupled lightingcomponents.

In another aspect, positions of the coupled lighting components arerepresented through projections onto a major axis of the ellipsoid.

In another aspect, audio visualization unit is further configured togenerate a second set of lighting activation instructions adapted forcausing lighting transition patterns responsive to determined audiotransition patterns extracted from the digital audio representation.

In another aspect, the physical arrangement includes at least globalgeometry data applied to an assembly formed by the plurality of coupledlighting components.

In another aspect, the audio signal is a mechanical wave received by atransducer, and the digital audio representation is generated byconverting the audio signal into a digital format selected from thegroup of digital formats consisting of WAV, MP3, MPEG, and AIFF.

In another aspect, the plurality of coupled lighting components includeat least two lighting components that are wirelessly interconnected.

In another aspect, the plurality of coupled lighting components includeat least two lighting components that are physically interconnected.

In another aspect, each coupled lighting component of the plurality ofcoupled lighting components includes at least a controllable lightingelement, and a plurality of physical interconnections for connecting tothe one or more coupled lighting components.

In another aspect, the physical arrangement is stored as geometrymetadata.

In another aspect, a method for controlling a plurality of coupledlighting components in accordance with an audio signal is provided, themethod comprising: providing a digital audio representation based atleast on the audio signal; emitting, by the plurality of coupledlighting components, individually controllable light, the coupledlighting components provided in a physical arrangement, each of theplurality of coupled lighting components configured to emit theindividually controllable light, and controllable in accordance with oneor more received lighting activation instructions; maintaining anelectronic representation of the physical arrangement based on sensedrearrangements of or change events occurring in relation to the physicalarrangement, the electronic representation including at least linkagesindicative of geospatial relations between coupled lighting components;providing a plurality of lighting activation instructions generated inaccordance with the digital audio representation, the plurality oflighting activation instructions comprising timed instruction setsrepresentative of at least one of (i) a color coordinate, (ii) anintensity level, and (iii) a desired geometric position of the lightingactivation; for each lighting activation instruction, selecting anindividual coupled lighting component of the plurality of coupledlighting components based at least on querying the electronicrepresentation of the physical arrangement; individually controllingeach of the coupled lighting components in accordance with the lightingactivation instructions, the lighting activation instructions, incombination causing a geometric visualization effect to beco-operatively displayed across the one or more coupled lightingcomponents of the plurality of coupled lighting components.

In another aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided includingmachine readable instructions, the machine readable instructions, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method forcontrolling a plurality of coupled lighting components in accordancewith an audio signal, the method comprising: providing a digital audiorepresentation based at least on the audio signal; emitting, by theplurality of coupled lighting components, individually controllablelight, the coupled lighting components provided in a physicalarrangement, each of the plurality of coupled lighting componentsconfigured to emit individually controllable light, and controllable inaccordance with one or more received lighting activation instructions;maintaining an electronic representation of the physical arrangementbased on sensed rearrangements of or change events occurring in relationto the physical arrangement, the electronic representation including atleast linkages indicative of geospatial relations between coupledlighting components; providing a plurality of lighting activationinstructions generated in accordance with the digital audiorepresentation, the plurality of lighting activation instructionscomprising timed instruction sets representative of at least one of (i)a color coordinate, (ii) an intensity level, and (iii) a desiredgeometric position of the lighting activation; for each lightingactivation instruction, selecting an individual coupled lightingcomponent of the plurality of coupled lighting components based at leaston querying the electronic representation of the physical arrangement;individually controlling each of the coupled lighting components inaccordance with the plurality of lighting activation instructions, theone or more lighting activation instructions in combination causing ageometric visualization effect to be co-operatively displayed across theone or more coupled lighting components of the plurality of coupledlighting components.

In another aspect, there is provided a connector for physically couplingtwo or more configurable lighting units, each of the two or more two ormore configurable lighting units having a corresponding aperture forreceiving the connector, the connector comprising: one or moremechanical connections for insertion into the corresponding aperture toprovide stable physical coupling between the two or more configurablelighting units for a threshold damage or force level before separation;one or more electrical connections enabling a flow of electricity from afirst configurable lighting unit to other configurable lighting units ofthe two or more configurable lighting units, the first configurablelighting unit directly or indirectly receiving power from a powersource; and wherein each configurable lighting unit of an assembly ofconfigurable lighting units is electrically coupled such that such thatno more than one configurable lighting unit is required to be connectedto the power source when powering the two or more configurable lightingunits.

In another aspect, the connector includes circuitry for enabling datatransmission between the two or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the data transmission is a digital signal modulation,transmitted as Power Line Communication adapted to operate incooperation with one or more electrical connections between the coupledtwo or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the data transmission is a digital signal modulationtransmitted over a bidirectional serial pin of the connector, thebidirectional serial pin being physically distinct to the one or moreelectrical connections.

In another aspect, the data transmission includes a signal thatindicates one or more unique identifiers, each unique identifieridentifying the connectable subsections of the two or more configurablelighting units at which the coupled two or more configurable lightingunits are connected.

In another aspect, the data transmission includes a signal thatinstructs one or more of the lighting units in the assembly to changeone or more drive currents to one or more light-emitting diodes of thecoupled two or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the data transmission includes a signal that encodesaudio retrieved by a transducer.

In another aspect, the data transmission includes a signal that encodesfor motion detection by perturbation to an expected radiation pattern.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are actuatedby an attractive magnetic force that pulls a rigid body from a firstconfigurable lighting unit into an aperture of a second configurablelighting unit, the one or more mechanical connections in combinationwith the attractive magnetic force providing the stable physicalcoupling between the coupled two or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the rigid body is held inside the first lighting unitby a spring when zero or below designed threshold magnetic force isacting on the rigid body.

In another aspect, the actuation establishes the one or more electricalconnections by coupling of two or more conductive materials, the two ormore conductive materials permitting the flow of electricity between thetwo or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the actuation establishes a connection for datatransmission by the joining of two or more conductive materials.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are formed bymagnetic attraction between one or more magnets that are configured tomove between discrete compartments within each configurable lightingunit, and the one or more magnets exerting magnetic force through eachconfigurable lighting unit being made of a material of magneticpermeability nearly identical to air such that an attractive force isformed between two or more configurable lighting units in near proximityto each other.

In another aspect, the two or more configurable lighting units aremanufactured to have at least one of plastic, copper, wood, andaluminum.

In another aspect, the one or more mechanical connections are formed byway of insertion of a secondary component of material in two femaleconnectors at the connectable subsections of the two or moreconfigurable lighting units to be joined; and the secondary componentincludes a compressible component that, upon joining, provides aconstraining force to resist a separating force.

In another aspect, the secondary component is a printable circuit boardthat, in addition to providing the one or more mechanical connections,further provides the one or more electrical connections and one or moredata connection between the two or more configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the compressible component includes bent sheet metalthat, upon compression, elastically deforms such that the compressiblecomponent locks into a compatible indentation part of the correspondingaperture of the corresponding configurable lighting unit.

In another aspect, each configurable lighting unit is a substantiallyflat surface of a transparent or semitransparent material shaped as apolygon; and wherein each side of the polygon are flat subsections thatform the two or more connectable subsections.

In another aspect, the polygon is an equilateral triangle.

In another aspect, the transparent or semitransparent material ispolymethyl methacrylate or polycarbonate.

In another aspect, light is injected into the substantially flat surfaceby a plurality of light-emitting diodes; the light is diffusedthroughout the material of the flat surface by scattering; and a subsetof the scattering events causes the light to exit the substantially flatsurface into an environment.

In another aspect, the scattering is caused by an addition ofmicroscopic surface imperfection on the substantially flat surface ofeach configurable lighting unit.

In another aspect, the plurality of light-emitting diodes includeslight-emitting diodes that generate light of different colors.

In another aspect, the polygon is a rectangle.

In another aspect, the connector is configured not only to provide theflow of electricity but to further include circuitry to sequentiallypropagate electricity flow and control signals between each set ofcoupled configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the sequential propagation of the electricity flowand the control signals is utilized to transmit control signals to andfrom a controller, the controller being directly coupled to only one ofthe configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the sequential propagation of the electricity flowand the control signals is utilized to transmit electricity from acontroller housing the power source, the controller being directlycoupled to only one of the configurable lighting units.

In another aspect, the connector is configured for coupling to the powersource.

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a configurable flatillumination device including: one or more substantially flat lightemitting structures, each of the one or more substantially flat lightemitting structures configured to provide illumination into anenvironment.

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a lighting kit includinga plurality of configurable lighting units configured to be remove-ablycoupled together using one or more connectors to form one or morecontinuous shapes that are reconfigurable through re-arrangement of theplurality of configurable lighting units. Each configurable lightingunit of the one or more configurable lighting units having one or moreconnectable subsections including at least an aperture for receiving acorresponding connector of the one or more connectors. Each connector ofthe one or more connectors insertable into a first aperture of a firstconfigurable lighting unit and a second aperture of a secondconfigurable lighting unit, the connector including: one or moremechanical connections that cooperate with structural characteristics ofthe first aperture or the second aperture such that the firstconfigurable lighting unit and the second configurable lighting unit,and one or more electrical connections enabling a flow of electricitybetween the first configurable lighting unit and the second configurablelighting unit. The plurality of configurable lighting units electricallycoupled together through the one or more connectors such that no morethan one configurable lighting unit is required to be connected to apower source when powering every configurable lighting unit of theplurality of configurable lighting units, the power source connectableto the one configurable lighting unit of the assembly.

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a plurality ofconfigurable lighting units configured to be remove-ably coupledtogether using one or more connectors to form one or more continuousshapes that are reconfigurable through re-arrangement of the pluralityof configurable lighting units; each configurable lighting unit of theone or more configurable lighting units having one or more connectablesubsections including at least an aperture for receiving a correspondingconnector of the one or more connectors; each connector of the one ormore connectors insertable into a first aperture of a first configurablelighting unit and a second aperture of a second configurable lightingunit, the plurality of configurable lighting units electrically coupledtogether through the one or more connectors such that no more than oneconfigurable lighting unit is required to be connected to a power sourcewhen powering every configurable lighting unit of the plurality ofconfigurable lighting units, the power source connectable to the oneconfigurable lighting unit of the assembly.

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a lighting system withan assembly formed by a plurality of configurable lighting unitsremove-ably coupled together using one or more connectors to form one ormore continuous shapes that are reconfigurable through re-arrangement ofthe plurality of configurable lighting units. Each configurable lightingunit of the one or more configurable lighting units having one or moreconnectable subsections including at least an aperture for receiving acorresponding connector of the one or more connectors. Each connector ofthe one or more connectors insertable into a first aperture of a firstconfigurable lighting unit and a second aperture of a secondconfigurable lighting unit. The connector includes one or moremechanical connections that cooperate with structural characteristics ofthe first aperture or the second aperture to couple the firstconfigurable lighting unit and the second configurable lighting unit,and one or more electrical connections enabling a flow of electricitybetween the first configurable lighting unit and the second configurablelighting unit, the one or more electrical connections enable a powersource only connected to a configurable lighting unit of the assembly tothe provide power to the plurality of configurable lighting units of theassembly.

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a lighting system havinga plurality of configurable lighting units remove-ably coupled togetherusing one or more connectors to form one or more continuous shapes thatare reconfigurable through re-arrangement of the plurality ofconfigurable lighting units; each configurable lighting unit of the oneor more configurable lighting units having one or more connectablesubsections for engaging with a corresponding connector of the one ormore connectors; each connector of the one or more connectors including:one or more mechanical connections that cooperate with structuralcharacteristics of the connectable subsections to couple the firstconfigurable lighting unit and the second configurable lighting unit;and one or more electrical connections enabling a flow of electricitybetween the first configurable lighting unit and the second configurablelighting unit.

In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a method for controllinga plurality of coupled lighting components in accordance with an audiosignal, the method including: providing a digital audio representationbased at least on the audio signal; emitting, by the plurality ofcoupled lighting components, individually controllable light, thecoupled lighting components coupled to generate a continuous shape, eachof the plurality of coupled lighting components configured to emit theindividually controllable light, and controllable in accordance with oneor more received lighting activation instructions; maintaining anelectronic representation of the continuous shape based on sensedrearrangements of or change events occurring in relation to thecomponents, the electronic representation including at least linkagesindicative of geospatial relations between the coupled lightingcomponents; providing a plurality of lighting activation instructionsgenerated in accordance with the digital audio representation, theplurality of lighting activation instructions comprising timedinstruction sets; for each lighting activation instruction, selecting anindividual coupled lighting component of the plurality of coupledlighting components based at least on querying the electronicrepresentation; individually controlling each of the coupled lightingcomponents in accordance with the lighting activation instructions, thelighting activation instructions, in combination causing a geometricvisualization effect to be co-operatively displayed across the one ormore coupled lighting components of the plurality of coupled lightingcomponents.

In accordance with another aspect, each of the one or more substantiallyflat light emitting structures is adapted for connection with anotherone of the one or more substantially flat light emitting structures.

In accordance with another aspect, at least one of the one or moresubstantially flat light emitting structures includes a light guide.

In various further aspects, the disclosure provides correspondingsystems and devices, and logic structures such as machine-executablecoded instruction sets for implementing such systems, devices, andmethods.

The system, devices, components, may be provided individually ortogether as a kit. Pre-built structures may also be provided.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment in detail, itis to be understood that the embodiments are not limited in applicationto the details of construction and to the arrangements of the componentsset forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

Many further features and combinations thereof concerning embodimentsdescribed herein will appear to those skilled in the art following areading of the instant disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In the figures, embodiments are illustrated by way of example. It is tobe expressly understood that the description and figures are only forthe purpose of illustration and as an aid to understanding.

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, withreference to the attached figures, wherein in the figures:

FIG. 1 is an example illustration of a relation between the subjectiveperception of space and the design of the lighting, where factorsuniformity, place of light and brightness are jointly considered,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of an example illustration of an embodiment ofthe flat lighting unit, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a two-dimensional luminaire comprised of aplurality of triangles, illustrative of four appreciably flat triangles,with three already joined by their sides, with a fourth triangle beingjoined to the bottom side of the assembly, according to someembodiments. The assembly may be assumed to experience gravitationalforce with a non-zero force in the plane of the triangles.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing details of a magnetic lockin an apex that is pulled out by magnetic force as a complimentarystructure is moved close, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a magnetic lock that includes a strutthat is hatched to a ledge to provide further mechanical rigidity,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6A is a side plan view of an aperture, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 6B is a top plan view of the aperture, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of a magnetic lock constructionthat includes electrical connection through pogo pins, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of another embodiment that combineselectrical and mechanical connection in one piece with springs to keepthe block in a retracted position without an oppositely polarized magnetattracting the block, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of another embodiment having amagnet within the body of the light unit, which is free to roll intodiscrete positions, according to some embodiments. The magnet iselectrically connected and provides electrical connection in each of thediscrete positions.

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of a tetrahedron assembled througha three-dimensional magnetic connector of complementary polarization,according to some embodiments. The shade of the flat magnets representsthe polarization.

FIG. 11 is an example representation of the magnet polarization andconfiguration that enables all connections, including tetrahedron,without magnetic repulsions, according to some embodiments. Dashed linesindicate the sides that are in contact. As the sides are joined, eitherto generate a planar assembly or one with a panel in to or out of theplane of the page, only oppositely polarized magnets are in directproximity to thus produce a net attractive magnetic force.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an example lighting unit with PCBbridge for electrical and mechanical connection between shown panel andan adjacent panel, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 is illustrative of an example embodiment of a PCB bridge forelectrical and mechanical connection between shown panel and an adjacentpanel, according to some embodiments. This embodiment creates fourindependent connections, where the different shades representnon-overlapping layers in the circuit.

FIG. 14 includes example illustrations of two assemblies of lightingunits with their corresponding adjacency matrices below the drawing,according to some embodiments. The two assemblies are mirror images ofeach other.

FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C provide example drawings of assemblies oflighting units along with side indexing that conforms to the clockwiseindex order, except the right-most drawing, according to someembodiments. The chiral adjacency matrices are given below each drawing.

FIG. 16 is an example schematic illustrative of the pin connections atany given side of a lighting unit and how they connect in an assembly toa microcontroller, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 17 is an example schematic of representation of the pin connectionsat any given side of a lighting unit and how they connect in an assemblyto a microcontroller, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 18 is illustrative of interfaces that are used to create visuallypleasing and calming dynamic variations across space and time of aspecific embodiment of a lighting unit assembly, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 19 is a block schematic illustrating components of a system,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 20 is a second block schematic illustrating components of anotherexample system, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of a system for processing soundaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a system for processing soundaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a system for processing soundaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 24 is a diagram of an audio spectrogram of a short section of musicaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 25 is a diagram of an assembly is a union of individuallyaddressable panels of LED lighting units, where each panel is of apolygonal shape and joined to neighboring panels through a wiredconnection, according to some embodiments. Graphs, matrices, andworkflows are also depicted in FIG. 25.

FIG. 26 is a workflow diagram of a rendering mechanism according to someembodiments.

FIG. 27 is a workflow diagram of a rendering mechanism according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 28A-28D provide illustrations of various computing devicesaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 29 illustrates example components of a kit of the system, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 30A illustrates an example controller, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 30B illustrates two configurable lighting units being coupledtogether, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 31 illustrates an example setup of a configurable lighting panelwith the controller, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 32A, FIG. 32B, FIG. 32C are example screenshots of interfaces usinga mobile device, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 33 and FIG. 34 show example continuous/contiguous shapes possibleby arranging and/or rearranging the configurable lighting units,according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of methods, systems, and apparatus are described throughreference to the drawings.

Conventional applications of LEDs have been intentionally limited bysize, form and electrical constraints set to fit the incandescentlighting technology. Furthermore, LEDs have been limited to the creationof a constant type of white light without any of the variability andcreative control described in some embodiments herein. This is calledretrofit LED lighting, and its benefit is a reduced consumption ofelectrical energy as compared against incandescent or fluorescenttechnology.

However, the imposed constraints remove several beneficial lightingdesigns. Some advanced LED lighting products that employ a broader rangeof abilities have hence started to emerge. Examples include color-tuninglight bulbs that are controlled via a touchscreen interface, or ceilinglights that automatically change in a gradual fashion from a cool whitelight to a warm white light as the time of day goes from noon toevening. Various embodiments described in detail below are furtherimprovements and variations to the way in which LED lighting technologycan be used for personalized or novel lighting needs that go beyond thetypical retrofit purpose.

In various embodiments described herein, innovative systems, devices,methods, and computer-readable media are described wherein configurablelighting units can be constructed such that it is extremely easy toassemble into a larger luminaire assembly, the individual lighting unitsbeing configurable in that their orientations, positions, andconnections with one another can be re-arranged by users. This luminaireassembly is designed for ease of connectivity, and connectors can beused between configurable lighting units so that the configurablelighting units are interconnected and can share power, data (e.g.,control signals) either amongst one another or with a centralcontroller. The central controller can include various computing devicesand/or power delivery units, for example, one or more layout detectionunits, effect rendering units, network interface units (e.g., forcommunication with networked devices such as Apple Homekit™ devices),among others. Configurable lighting units can be described herein aslighting panels, lighting units, lighting devices, and so forth.

Upon assembly, the layout of the luminaire assembly becomesautomatically determined for subsequent programmatic control. The layoutpermits the ability to render otherwise impossible visualizations andeffects (further improved by way of external stimuli such as audioinputs from a microphone), and the layout can be maintained by way of adata structure stored locally or externally in a data storage.

Applicant has further developed a layout determination mechanism that iscapable of handling “hot swapping” of components—when a new configurablelighting unit is added to the assembly, the layout detectionautomatically identifies it as new and begins interacting with out, freeof human intervention. Similarly, when a configurable lighting unit isdetermined to be removed, the layout detection is automatically updatedand render effects no longer include such a panel. Various embodimentsfurther describe how to distribute light in an appreciably flat body,but the embodiments should not be considered limited to flat bodies(e.g., bodies may have textures, lightguides, incorporated waveguides,among others).

Some described embodiments are designed and structurally configured toenable an ordinary user, without any training or accreditation inelectrical safety, to assembly a two-dimensional luminaire that isshaped as any irregular or regular polyhedra through the joining ofindividual panel blocks or units. The shape can, for example, be ahexagon comprised of six equilateral triangles joined together at two oftheir three sides.

Other shapes and designs are possible, and may be desirable in varioussituations, and shapes and designs need not be static after setup. Invarious embodiments, the light panels, corresponding connection andcontrol technology are designed to dynamically adapt to changes in shapeand design of an overall assembly (in some cases, permitting “hotswapping” where configurable light panels are removed/added to theassembly while the assembly is powered). While triangles are describedin various embodiments, Applicant has further developed other shapes(e.g., squares) and many of the principles apply equally across othershapes (e.g., various polyhedra).

In an example where the lighting panels are triangles, each triangle canin turn emit light generated from a plurality of LEDs, which can be ofdifferent color. The triangles can also be controlled individually. Forexample, one triangle emits red light at high intensity, while anothertriangle in the assembly emits a lower intensity blue light. Theinherent combinatorics of building a geometrical structure such as thismeans that even a small number of blocks can be used to build manydistinct shapes.

The flexibility in combinations enables ordinary users to designluminaire assembly shapes that fit their specific needs (or rearrangethem) rather than to be limited to a shape set by a manufacturer. Shapesinclude ones that are extended mostly vertically, such that a sunrise orsunset can be emulated both in terms of the hue of the light as well asthe spatial quality of the varying light intensity; it includes complexshapes, such as heart-shapes, pyramids, bird outlines, flags and otherabstract representations, which all enable a user's self-expression anddesign ideas.

Building such a dynamic and flexible system is technically challenging,as in comparison to a traditional fixed shape/design, structural,control, and power interconnections are not known a priori. For example,these configurable lighting units need to be able to stably connect withone another from a mechanical perspective, and it is also desirable toshare power, data, electrical signals, etc.

Accordingly, methods and processes are required to aid in the providinga sufficient flow of electricity and propagating control signals to beprovided across the lighting assembly. For example, in some embodiments,a single configurable lighting unit is connected to a control/powersource. The control/power source can be configured to providepower/control signals to its connected configurable lighting unit, whichthen, by way of a series of connectors (providing mechanical,electrical, and/or data connections) and joined sections, propagatesboth control signals and power across the entire lighting assembly. Theconnectors are of a specific design whereby the connectors can (1)connect the configurable lighting units together so that they canwithstand impact and movement in a first direction (e.g., shear forces),but also (2) be able to removable from the configurable lighting unitswith the application of a sufficiently strong force in a seconddirection perpendicular to the first (e.g., pulling the connector “out’of the configurable lighting unit). The units can be separated byapplying a threshold damage or force level. The threshold damage orforce level can depend on the angle or direction of impact orapplication of force. The threshold damage or force level can depend onthe type of impact or application of force. The threshold damage orforce level can withstand impact and movement in a first direction(e.g., shear forces), but also enable separation of the configurablelighting units with the application of a sufficiently strong force in asecond direction perpendicular to the first (e.g., pulling the connector“out’ of the configurable lighting unit).

With respect to (1), the connectors need to be able to resist breakageand thus a first threshold of resistance to shear forces should be highgiven that the configurable lighting units are likely to be used andplaced in a variety of different environmental settings. With respect to(2), the connectors need to be able to resist the pulling force to asecond threshold (e.g., so that the connectors are not too “loose” andeasily removed, but at the same time, past the second threshold, theconnectors should be removable from the configurable lighting units sothat they can be reused, move around to another section, moved around toanother lighting unit, etc.). Accordingly, the threshold damage or forcelevel can be defined by different thresholds.

Configurable lighting units may include one or more apertures to receivethe connectors, and the configurable lighting units may also have“connectable” subsections (e.g., the corners or the midpoints of thesides, or other areas) whereby the configurable lighting units areconfigured for secure attachment to one another.

As the control and power source provides control signals across theentire assembly yet, in some embodiments, connects directly to only oneor more configurable lighting units, the assembly is configured toperform an electronic method for layout detection by way of signals thatpropagate as between configurable lighting units.

In other words, the creation of a pleasing illumination can furtherrequire each configurable lighting unit to, in a sense, understand itsplace within the larger structure/assembly. Indirect connections mayneed to be identified through sending one or more probe signals throughthe assembly. Where new configurable lighting units are added to theassembly when it is electrically powered, the new configurable lightingunits may be configured to propagate a control signal indicating theiraddition to be received by the control/power source, and similarly, whena configurable lighting unit is detected to be removed that waspreviously connected to another configurable lighting unit, thatconfigurable lighting unit may be also be configured to propagateanother control signal indicating the removal such that the layoutdetection model can be updated accordingly.

In the specific non-limiting example of an emulated sunrise, the type ofemitted light should not only transition from a warm white of lowintensity to a cool white of high intensity, the emitted light shouldalso change such that lighting units higher up in the vertical structureemit at an increasing relative intensity as lighting units further downin the vertical structure emit at a decreasing relative intensity. Inthis sense, the layout detection is important in a computer-baseddetermination of the illumination effect. In comparison to a naveapproach where there is no layout detection, more complex andsophisticated illumination effects can be rendered by way of theconfigurable lighting units working in concert with a controller. Thelayout detection model, stored in various data structures and maintainedperiodically or in response to detected stimuli, provides a geometricbasis for generating dynamic visual effects whereby the configurablelighting units are interact-able visual elements that, in concert,render the dynamic visual effects.

Another aspect of the invention is therefore a method by which the actof assembling the luminaire triggers a simultaneous layout detectionthat in turn generates an abstract representation of where in the largerassembly each unit resides, or its context. Without this method theindividual units remain just individual pieces, like separate lightbulbs in a room. With this method, the units becomes part of a biggerstructure, which is greater than the sum of its parts. Two light bulbsin a room are two light sources which simply add up to double theillumination. Two lighting units joined in the manner above become onedistinct luminaire where each unit knows its context among the otherunits, hence the luminaire is more than a source of double theillumination.

There are many possible abstract representation of the assembledluminaire that the layout detection generates. There are representationsthat are highly granular, such as an array of Cartesian coordinates ofeach individual lighting unit. However, granular representations may beunsuitable to create logical instructions. The emulated sunrise aboverequires only the information where on the vertical axis of the assemblya particular configurable lighting unit sits. Another example is aheart-shaped luminaire that is intended to pulse light outwards from thecenter.

This lighting design requires the information where on the radial axis,with origin at the geometrical center of the assembly, each unit sits.Therefore, part of the invention are methods to derive meaningfulgeometrical representations, given a detected luminaire layout, whichare key in the execution of creative lighting designs.

One such lighting design is the concurrent visualization of audio bylight of different intensity and color moving through the luminaireassembled by the user in one of the many possible shapes. For example,as music plays in order to set a mood or create an atmosphere, theluminaire is evolving, pulsating or flowing with colored light that isadapting to the music and further enhances the feeling of the music.Another example is the visualization of audio created by speech or otherambient noise. Light that is responsive to human presence or actions canmake a space come alive and be more comfortable to be in, attract viewsfrom potential customers and become a memorable experience. In order tofully visualize the many distinct features of audio, the differentgeometrical representations discussed above are needed in order toenable the great many ways light can evolve in the assembled luminaireof a known but otherwise arbitrary shape.

For illustrative purposes, one can imagine the following example set ofevents: A person in her home assembles twenty individual configurablelighting units into a creative shape, say a horizontal wave across awall, in less than two minutes. The luminaire assembly is connected topower/control system through a wall-plug, and connected via Wi-Fi to aphone or laptop, all in less than one minute. A rendering program isselected by pressing buttons or by voice-commands. Through a separatemusic system, a rhythmic music tune is played, which creates audiowaves. The luminaire begins to pulse intense red light from left toright in-sync with the beats of the music on a background of lowintensity white light.

The context awareness of the individual configurable lighting units, theease in which the luminaire/assembly is assembled, the specific mannerin which the assembly is geometrically characterized and how audio ismapped to light evolution throughout the luminaire are all technicalfactors involved in the creation of this otherwise artistic experience.Different aspects are useful separately as well as together, and variouselements can function independent of one another. Illustrativeembodiments of this kind are given in the description to follow.

The lighting design of a space involves many factors of the light. Thelighting designer Richard Kelly defines the key variables of a lightingdesign. In addition to the brightness of the space, the lighting designshould consider distribution of light in the space, spectral propertiesof the light and “direction of major apparent light areas relative toeye level”. The subjective perception of a space, including sense ofsize, has been found to depend on some of these variables.

Light Generation and Distribution Hardware

FIG. 1 is an illustration 100 that shows the qualitative dependency ofhow bright a space is, how uniform the light is distributed, where thesource of the light is located, and the perception of its occupants ofthe size of the space. In the early 2000s, it was determined that thehuman eye contains intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells,which does not contribute to vision, and rather regulates the circadianrhythm. The cells may be activated by blue light exclusively andsuppress the creation of the hormone melatonin, which induces sleepinessin mammals. The daylight in the middle of the day is rich in blue light,while the daylight at the end of a day is shifted towards red lightwavelengths. These are the light rhythm conditions the human biology hasevolved to.

There is an increasing body of studies to suggest that artificiallighting can disrupt these rhythms to the detriment of the health of theindividual. Individual differences in what constitutes optimal lightingis contemplated, where so called human-centric lighting design has beenheralded as a paradigm shift in how it is the human occupants of aspace, and their direct and indirect needs, that should govern how thelighting is done. In few places is this as evident as in carefacilities, where older men and women with an increasing prevalence ofhealth conditions receive care. There is evidence that lighting canfavorably modulate disease symptoms through spectral variation duringthe day, or brightness and spatial dynamics that provides clear guidanceon how to safely move around a space and avoid falls. The combination ofspatial and spectral properties of lighting is therefore a powerful mixin the design of a space not just suitable for the basic function ofillumination, but for the well-being of its occupants.

An illustration of this is the difference in lighting in a lunchrestaurant and in a dinner restaurant. The lighting of the former istypically activating and formal, attained by lighting that is bright,containing a greater amount of blue light wavelengths, and usually fromlighting fixtures high above the customer of the restaurant. Thelighting of the latter is typically relaxing and intimate, attained bylighting that is dim, containing a greater amount of red lightwavelengths, and usually from lighting fixtures closer to the customer,like a pendant lamp just above the table or lighting on the table.

Other applications of lighting that more recently have received asimilar consideration with respect to human factors not just related tothe control of brightness is lighting in schools, care facilities andstreet lighting. The above are all examples of lighting being more thana form of illumination of a space. Rather, the placement and spectrum ofthe lighting contributes to the atmosphere of the space, itsfunctionality and to a degree the health of the people inhabiting thespace.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductors that emit light at anarrow band of wavelengths when direct current (DC) is passed across thep-n junction of the diode. The material composition of the LEDdetermines the band structure, and thus among other things, the spectrumof emitted light. Examples of LED compositions are gallium arsenide(GaAs), gallium phosphide (GaP) and gallium nitrite (GaN). LEDs exist ina variety of visible light output, such as violet, blue, green, amber,red, and also of non-visible output, such as ultra-violet (UV). Mostcommercial LED lamps produce white light, which is a mixture of light ofdifferent wavelengths. White light is conventionally characterized byits Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) and some metric on the ability ofthe light to accurately render colors; these metrics include ColorRender Index (CRI), Color Quality Scale (CQS) and Gamut Area Index(GAI).

The CCT of white light quantifies the degree of red versus blue lightcomponents, where lower values of CCT imply that there is more red lightpresent, hence leading to a warmer, more fire-like appearance of thelight. By way of example, the light from typical candlelight is around1800K, the light from the sun during sunset is around 2500K, and thelight in the middle of an overcast day is near 10000K. One method toattain the white light mixture is through a combination of materiallydistinct LEDs that produce visibly distinct light, which are mixed in asecondary optics, such as a lens or through scattering by smallparticles or structural irregularities in a material through which thelight from the LEDs travel before illuminating the space.

Another method to attain the white light mixture is by coating a blue orviolet LED with an inhomogeneous phosphor that absorbs a subset of thelight, followed by a reduction of the total energy through therelaxation of vibrational degrees of freedom of the atoms in thephosphor, before emitting a lower energy, longer wavelength, light.Because of the simpler construction, the latter method is more commonamong commercially available LED lamps, although examples of the formermethods exists as well, in particular in the form of so calledred-blue-green (RGB) lamps.

A complication known in the art of RGB lamps and lighting in general isthat the materially distinct LEDs react differently to heat. LEDs areknown to lose more of the luminous output to non-radiative relaxationmodes as the temperature increase. Some types of LEDs lose more thanother types of LEDs, where GaP LEDs are known to be particularly proneto reduced luminous flux with increasing temperature. There are methodsthat involve feedback loops to remove any appreciable drift in the colorcoordinate. The emission of a relatively narrow spectrum is part of thereason LEDs are efficient relative to the traditional incandescentlighting, which emits a very broad spectrum through thermal radiationthat includes a considerable amount of non-visible wavelengths.

Since LEDs are semiconductors, they are typically mounted on a printablecircuit board (PCB) in a lamp. The PCB is also the foundation ofelectronics like microcontrollers (MCUs) and processors. Therefore thehardware of LED lamps can with relative ease be extended to includecomputing devices. This is the hardware foundation of connected LEDlamps, or smart lighting. The MCU can embody simple logic to change thecurrent that drives the plurality of LEDs in a lamp. In a lamp thatcontains LEDs that have a different spectrum, such as an RGB lamp, or alamp that contains a variety of white light LEDs of different CCT,different relative currents to the LEDs in turn leads to a varying mixedspectrum. In the former case the light becomes color tunable, and in thelatter the shade of white can change similar to how the daylight changesduring the course of a day.

The signal to the MCU can in turn derive from a wireless signal receivedby an integrated antenna, or it can be received over a wired connection.Antennas have to be tuned to receive or transmit the signal of interestat an adequate range at a minimum of energy losses. Properties such asantenna length and shape, as well as how the antenna is electrically ormechanically connected to nearby electrical or mechanical components ofthe lamp, have to be engineered in order to ensure optimal performance.Furthermore, most jurisdictions in the world regulate in which frequencybands devices are allowed to transmit. An antenna design that generatesstrong harmonic frequencies at some multiple or fraction of the intendedfrequency is not acceptable in a commercial product.

Through computer simulations and tests in anechoic chambers theseproperties can usually be attained for transmissions at the conventionalfrequencies, 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz, as long as the lamp or luminaire isnot too small or crowded with components of materials that areconductive and thus a barrier to the electromagnetic wave. Regardless ofthe method of receiving the signal, however, the control of multipletypes of LEDs means the control aspect is not just a binary control,like an on/off switch, or a one-dimensional control, like a standarddimmer switch. This property defines a challenge in supplying a userwith an intuitive interface to interact with the lamp or luminaire,since traditional light switches are inadequate to transmit the morecomplicated signal. In order to implement a lighting design of a space,which takes into account the variables described above, the controlchallenge increases even further, since multiple devices have to changeover time or be triggered by any of a plurality of possible events.

Part of the solution is to engineer software that can structure thecontrol and communicate with the luminaires. As in the foundationaltechnology of the World Wide Web (WWW), the communication of data andsignals benefit from a design that is stratified in layers of increasingabstraction. At the low levels, the signals are treated as binaryelectrical signals, while at higher levels the commands are described inunits closer to the human apprehension of the system. The advantage ofintroducing abstraction layers is that it simplifies the development ofnew features, security or enhanced hardware, as long as thecommunication interface between layers remains identical. This is anexample of software modularity, universally considered a necessaryfeature of high quality software. One of the better known abstractionlayer designs is the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model, whichdefines seven layers for device communication. At each layer a developerwould introduce different specific software methods to handle theparticular task of that layer. There are several distinct methods forany given layer available in the public domain, either fully disclosedto the public, or as confidential specifications within companies ororganizations. Each method can be different with respect to how securethey are, energy efficient, memory efficient, fast and fault tolerant.

Because of the modularity described above, it is still possible in aproduct or service development to select a diverse set of combinationsof software communication methods, and still have an application thatperforms the same primary function, only varying with respect to somedegree of quality.

In particular, the abstraction enables devices that are very differentat the lower levels of data communication to exchange data through acommon method at a higher level. For example, a device that recordsmotion in a room through passive infrared radiation (IR), can whentriggered communicate the low-level signal at the physical layer as amessage to the Internet using the prevalent Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP) in the form of a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), which isreceived by a mobile device through standard means of transmitting dataover the Internet, then through the layers in the software design of themobile device, triggers a physical mobile device signal, thus alertingthe owner of the motion detected by the IR signal.

Neither the developer of the mobile device, nor the motion sensor, hasto disclose the details of the lower layers of the communication. Thedeveloper conforms to an open standard for communicating data at somehigher level. Therefore, for many innovations of applications involvingone or multiple devices, the specific detail of how data is communicatedis, by design, not contingent on the low-level detail of the software orhardware design of either device.

This property of modern device communication is the practical foundationof innovations that connect wearable devices, which record somebiometric of the person carrying said device, with some state variableof the space the person is inhabiting. The biometric can for example be,heart rate, skin temperature, neural oscillations, sleep state. Througha physical sensor the biometric triggers a low-level electrical signalthat propagates upwards in the software design at an increasing level ofabstraction, until the sensor data exists in a form that can be receivedby the upper software layers of the second device, such as an LED lamp.

The same software technology is part of innovations to convert videosignals to lighting of a particular hue, saturation or brightness thatamplifies the content on display. In that case the control signaloriginates, not from another hardware device, rather from a digitalstream of data that in a TV would translate into a motion picture. Thisapplication shows that at the appropriate abstraction level, it is alldata that can be received and through software interpreted into lowerlevel signals, be they instructions to what color to set a given pixelon a TV, or instruction on what color and intensity to assign to oneluminaire or several luminaires at some preconfigured position in ahome, bar, outdoor area or other public or private place. Otherapplications include connecting physical hardware to the data stream ofsocial media. An example is CheerLights™, which enables any LED lightwith a certain software architecture to receive control signals fromonline messages on the social media platform Twitter™.

Some embodiments describe a configurable LED luminaire that through anovel hardware and software design may be able to meet one or more ofthe lighting design goals described above.

In some embodiments, the system enables spectrum, light locus, dynamicsand/or complete 2D-trough-tessellation spatial configurations. Thesystem is not limited to merely configuring the spectrum, or moderatelysome spatial configuration.

In some embodiments, a multi-component configurable LED light isprovided.

Some embodiments are based on an appreciably flat light emittingstructure. The flat structure is a light guide, which has an area wherelight is introduced. The light may propagate through the light guide.Throughout the light guide some element or microstructure is introducedto extract the light from the light guide and create the illumination.The surface area where the light is introduced is typically smaller thanthe surface area from which the light is extracted, ranging from 10 to1000 times difference.

The light guide can be made of material such as polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA), polycarbonate (PC) or a similar polymer that is completely orpartially transparent to visible light.

The polymer material has a refractive index greater than one, typicallybetween 1.4 and 1.5. Because the refractive index is greater than therefractive index of the air of the surrounding environment, light thatpropagates within the light guide can experience total internalreflection (TIR).

This may imply that light does not leave the light guide to the airunless the angle of incidence exceeds the critical value derived fromSnell's law. The light guide is hence able to guide the light from thelight sources in a manner with a highly restricted spread of the lightif so desired. An implication of this is that even if there is acurvature to the light guide below some critical threshold, the light isguided without significant losses of light to the environment.

In order to create illumination of the environment, the light can beextracted or out-coupled from the light guide. The extraction is donesuch that all or some of the plurality of light rays change direction toa degree greater than the critical angle of incidence derived fromSnell's law and the material properties of the light guide.

The conceptually simplest method is to randomly integrate smallreflective particles, such as Titanium Dioxide, uniformly through thelight guide. Light that travels close to the particles will hencescatter and change course through the light guide, in particular somelight will propagate at an angle relative to the interface between thelight guide and the surrounding air that allows the light to escape thelight guide. As long as the particles are small, it is possible todesign a distribution of particles such that the panel will appearuniformly illuminated to a human observer as light is introduced to thelight guide. Another method to extract light from the light guide usessurface roughening by for example, laser, silk print, etching orscratching.

By adding structural elements to the surface of the light guide thatbreaks the otherwise even surface, the probability of light beingextracted increases. A direct extraction can take place as light hitsthe interface because the angle of incidence is greater than thecritical value because of the surface roughening. The rough surface canalso reflect the light due to TIR in angles such that upon the nextinstance of hitting the interface between the light guide and theenvironment, the angle exceeds the critical value and the light isextracted into the environment and thus contribute to the illumination.The modification to the surface can be done in a deterministic fashionto control the extracted light in greater detail. Properties such as theefficiency of the extraction, the degree of extraction as a function ofdistance from source, as well as the angle of the light that isextracted, are all easier to engineer with a deterministic and specificplacement and shape of the structure added to the light guide.

At part of the circumference of the light guide, a reflective tape orother component can be applied, such that light that has not beenextracted from the light guide through its propagation from the lightsource to the end of the light guide, reflects back into the light guidesuch that an extraction event becomes possible again. This can be viewedas a recycling event where light emitted from the source is allowed totravel through the light guide again. The reflectivity of the tape canbe very high, above 95%, even above 99%. The reflection can be bothdispersive and perfectly reflective in nature. Another possible solutionis for the edge to be structured to increase probability of TIR at theedge and thus achieve a similar outcome as the reflective tape, withoutthe added component. This does however modify the visual appearance ofthe edge, unless it is hidden from view by some non-transparentstructural element, like an aluminum frame.

In one embodiment a plurality of LEDs of different CCT are used as thelight source, such that relative variations of the drive currentproduces different shades of white light.

In another embodiment a plurality of LEDs of different color, or inother words of different narrow spectra, are used, such that the colorcan be tuned through relative variations of the drive current. In theseembodiments the out-coupling must furthermore consider the spatialvariability of the visibly distinct light. For example, if a subset ofsurface elements out-couples red light more than green and blue light,another subset out-couples blue light more than red and green light, andanother subset out-couples green light more than red and blue light, theilluminated surface will appear highly heterogeneous with respect tocolor. In some applications this is a desired effect, since it can addadditional dynamic to the lighting. In some applications this is anundesirable effect; color uniformity is one of the criteria of theEnergy Star certification defined by the US Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA), for example.

The longer the distance the light rays travel before they out-couple,the more mixed they will be. One embodiment introduces light at the thinside of the light-guide and emits it from the orthogonal surface that ismany times larger, the travel distance is relative long in comparison toan embodiment where the light is introduced to the panel on the oppositeside of emitting surface.

The closer the distinct LEDs are placed, the shorter the travel distancehas to be in order to attain a given degree of mixing. Therefore, in anexample embodiment, the visibly distinct LEDs are placed close to eachother and light is allowed to travel a short distance in thelight-guiding panel with reduced, a minimum, or no out-coupling. Thisway color uniformity as perceived by the human observer may be optimized(e.g., maximized).

Because of the features of the light guide described above, the lightguide can be made relatively thin. The light source is an LED package,which optionally is composed of a plurality of visibly distinct LEDsemiconductors, and with a light-emitting surface that can be a fewmillimeters along its shortest dimension. The light guide shouldsubstantially (e.g., fully) cover the light-emitting surface of the LEDfor an efficient use of the generated light. In order to enable aphysical attachment of the light guide to other components that arerequired to manage the heat of the LEDs, or to cover the electricalcomponents needed to supply the LED with DC in a safe way, the lightguide can be thicker than the shortest dimension of the light-emittingsurface by at least 2 to 10 millimeters.

The extraction of light from the panel in either of other methods andreviewed above requires no added thickness to the panel, since it isbased on particles or structural variations that are at least one orderof magnitude smaller than the panel or LED package. The form factor ofthe luminaire can therefore be thin, only a few millimeters if desired.

The geometry of the luminaire can in principle be any two-dimensionalstructure. An example embodiment is an equilateral triangle. Theequilateral triangle is a simple two-dimensional structure, and the mostsymmetric of all triangles, of the symmetry group D3. The equilateraltriangle is a constituent surface is several three-dimensional solids;in particular three of five Platonic solids consists of equilateraltriangles. Larger three-dimensional structures, such as geodesic spheresare also products of equilateral triangles joined at the edges. Sincethe 60-degree angle in an equilateral triangle is a simple fraction of360 degrees, a surface can be tessellated with equilateral triangles, inother words, the triangles are tiles without overlap or gaps.

These properties together make the equilateral triangle a versatilecomponent in the construction of a larger structure, planar orthree-dimensional. An illustration of an embodiment is shown in FIG. 2,at example luminaire 200, having one or more connectors 2002, LEDs 2004,connecting ribs 2006, and light guide plate/diffuser 2008. Any regularor irregular polyhedron can be used as well in various embodiments.Other implementations are possible, and these components are shownmerely as examples. For example there may be more LEDS 2004, theconnectors 2002 may operate at different places, there may be othershapes, etc. Lighting devices aside from LEDS 2004 can also be used.

A square belongs to the D4 symmetry group, and the 90 degrees angleenables tessellation of a surface as well. The square is the surfaceelement in the cube, one of the five Platonic surfaces. A pentagonbelongs to the D5 symmetry group. However the 108 degrees angle of aregular pentagon is not a fraction of 360 degrees, hence it cannot beused to tessellate a surface.

It is the surface element of the dodecahedron, the last of the fivePlatonic solids. The regular hexagon can be constructed from sixequilateral triangles, hence any structure that in part or fully iscomposed of hexagons can be constructed with a plurality of equilateraltriangles. Through a combination of regular polyhedra, many threedimensional structures can be created when joined at the edges, forexample the traditional shape of a ball in soccer/football.

Light Extraction Units of Light Guide

As described herein, the light emitted into the light-guiding panel mustbecome fully or partially redirected to leave the panel and act asillumination of the environment. These points can be referred to asextraction points, regardless of the underlying physics of the lightredirection.

As an arbitrary unit of light leaves the panel, less of the lightremains in the panel to be emitted at a subsequent extraction point.Therefore, the amount of extracted light can vary across the panel, withmore light extracted near the LED source. Some lighting applicationsrequire the non-uniformity to be below a set threshold, either forfunctional or aesthetic reasons.

The form factor of the light-guiding panel is assumed to be set, as wellas the placement of the source of the light and its luminous flux. Avariable (in some cases, the only variable) in the design is thecoordinate and nature of the extraction point. In the more commonscenario where the nature of the extraction point is identical acrossthe panel, a variable (in some cases, the only variable) to optimize isthe placement of the set of extraction points in order to attain thedesired level of uniformity.

In the example of a light-guiding panel in the form of an equilateraltriangle with the source of light in the apexes of the triangle, andwith a highly reflective tape at the sides of the flat panel, thedistribution of the extraction points is a non-trivial inverse problem.For most structures similar complexity applies. A square presents aproblem that can be solved through simple geometry. The objective is anappreciably uniform surface of light from the light guiding panel. Inphysical terms the luminous emittance at any surface element of thelight guiding panel should deviate from the average luminous emittanceof the entire light guiding panel by no more than some small relative orabsolute threshold.

In the form of an equation the objective function is:

L∫_(S) M(s) − ⟨M⟩²ds$\left\langle M \right\rangle = \frac{\int_{S}^{\;}{{M(s)}{ds}}}{\int_{S}^{\;}{ds}}$where S is the set of points that define the surface that should beilluminated, and M(s) is the luminous emittance at a given surfaceelement s.

The standard unit for luminous emittance is lux and is readily measuredby equipment or modeled in optical software.

The objective of the method is to minimize the objective function L byadjusting the distribution of extraction points, given the shape of thepanel, given the placement of the light source. Given a distribution ofextraction points, standard optical simulation tools can be applied toascertain the luminous emittance function.

So called ray-tracing methods model the light as a plurality of raysthat propagate through a medium in a discretized manner. The ray tracinginvolves constructing approximate solutions to the Maxwell's equations.For some materials that include small elements of diffraction, thesimulation can be preceded by a calibration of the optical properties ofthe given material.

Once an adequately accurate method has been calibrated to compute thevalue of the objective function given a configuration of extractionpoints, the configuration is iteratively optimized with a zeroth-orderor first-order method. One embodiment uses a genetic method. It proceedsaccording to the following steps.

A plurality of configurations are initialized randomly. Theconfiguration is represented mathematically as a feature vector,referred to as the gene of the given configuration. The objectivefunction is computed for each configuration. The best performingconfigurations are transformed through a finite set of geneticoperators. The genetic operators typically include: mutation, whichrandomly perturbs a given configuration while preserving most elementsof the configuration; cross-over, which combines two top performingconfigurations in some manner, such as taking the first half of the geneof one configuration and combine with the second half of the otherconfiguration.

Through iteration, the population of configurations are changing towardssolutions that minimizes the objective function. The genetic method isembarrassingly parallel and can therefore be made to run quickly (e.g.,in some cases, very fast). A related stochastic optimization method issimulated annealing. It randomly modifies the configuration, and acceptsthe new configuration if and only if the objective function is eitherreduced, or only increases less than a random number generated at eachevaluation.

The threshold for allowed increase is progressively decreased, orannealed, as the optimization progresses. This construction allows themethod to escape shallow local minima on a path to the global minimum.Both methods are done without the computation of a gradient, hence theyare zeroth-order methods. First-order methods usually requires feweriterations than zeroth-order methods, but they require the exact orapproximate evaluation of the gradient of the objective function. TheMaxwell equations can be differentiated, analytically or numerically,which produces the gradient. Gradient-descent optimization orgradient-descent with inertia optimization can thus be employed to finda minimum of the objective function.

Structural and Electrical Connection, 3D And 2D

The previous sections described the construction of an exampleembodiment of a single flat luminaire. Each unit is constructed to allowthe convenient assembly of multiple single units into a large luminaire.Because of the unique properties of the equilateral triangle, asdescribed earlier, a multitude of two- and three-dimensional structurescan be made.

This section describes a number of embodiments that allow a convenientand safe custom assembly of the lighting units into a larger luminaire.

FIG. 3 is an illustration 300 of a two-dimensional luminaire comprisedof a plurality of triangles 3002. The assembly is furthermore assumed toexperience a gravitational force 3006 which could have a non-zero forcevector in the plane of the triangles. Hence, if one of the triangles3004 is attached to the wall, but the other triangles 3002 are not,there can be a force separating the triangles from each other (e.g.,gravity). The weight of the various configurable lighting panels is animportant consideration from a mechanical perspective. Suitableconnectors may be required that, on one hand, are able to avoidaccidental damage when experiencing forces in certain directions, whilebeing able to be removed without too much difficulty.

In other words, the structure in FIG. 3 is not in a stable point withoutfurther constraining forces. Without loss of generality, the method isdescribed in terms of two triangles joined together. To a person skilledin the art the methods described below can readily be applied toluminaires that are comprised of more than two triangles, or toluminaires that are assembled from lighting units shaped as a square,rhombus, rectangle, parallelogram, pentagram, hexagram or any regular orirregular polygon.

Convenient locking mechanisms may be utilized, or, in some embodiments,a snug friction fit may be utilized so that the connectors between thelighting panels can be resistant to shear forces while also being ableto be removed easily if pulled with sufficient force along an axis thatis used for insertion/removal. As forces experienced between thelighting panels in regular use (and not when inserting/removingconnectors) may be in multiple directions, it may serve to provide asufficiently stable connection while at the same time providing aremovable connection.

Magnetic force has been used in LED lighting to make one componentpossible to separate from another component. The modular constructionthus obtained enables individual components that decay or fail earlierthan other components possible to replace rather than the entire lightfixture. These innovations do however not electrically or mechanicallycouple lighting devices to each other to form a larger lighting fixture,instead the construction is meant to enable an electrician to easilyreplace one functionally distinct component from a set of otherfunctionally distinct components.

Many such modular devices expose parts of the high voltage constructionof the lamp in the process of removing the particular component.Therefore an individual trained in electrical safety must complete thetask of replacing the component in question. Another application ofmagnetic force in LED lighting is to enable a continuously adjustableplacement of a lamp on an electrified track. This application requiresthe joint function of a magnetic force for mechanical reliability andsafe electrical conduction to power the LED package. However, it doesnot join multiple light units together into a functionally andstructurally new unit.

Prior work on enabling the mechanical and electrical attachments ofindividual lighting units into a larger luminaire has used edges withreciprocal protrusions and indentations along with an aligned hole intowhich a device can be inserted for mechanical attachment. Thisimplementation allows a relatively contiguous joining of the visuallyilluminated part of the light unit. However, it requires a separatedevice to mechanically join the parts. Furthermore, the terminal sidesto the assembled light unit can have the protrusions and indentationsand holes needed for the joining, which in some applications can removefrom the desired appearance of the product, unless the entire lightfixture is mounted in a custom frame that covers the terminal sides.

An embodiment separates the PCB on which the LEDs are mounted and thePCB on which the electrical driver is put by an appreciably cubicheatsink. On the four orthogonal sides of the cube, means toelectrically and mechanically attach a plurality of cubes is described.The electrical connection is described as a double-sided male connector,which connects the two female connectors on the two sides of the cubescoming together, and the mechanical connection is described as aninter-module snap clip, which when aligned with a slot on the other cubeside creates a constraining force that join the two cubes. Someembodiments include the option to include a wireless module within thecubic heat-sink.

Some embodiments utilize magnetic force to join flat panels in anelectrically safe and convenient manner without using structures that ata terminal side would remove from a desirable minimal and uniform visualappearance, or complicate the assembly for the user.

Some embodiments include an equilateral triangle with the LED lightsources in the apexes of the triangle. It is also on the sides of theapexes that the electrical and magnetic connectors are put. In FIG. 4,another example embodiment 400 is shown in relation to lighting panel4002.

This embodiment addresses the mechanical connection. On one side amagnet 4004 is mounted onto a solid block, which can be constructed byplastic, non-magnetic metal, or wood to name some examples. Thepolarization of the magnet is such that the entire surface directedoutwards relative to the other components of the lighting unit hasidentical sign, for example a positive polarization.

The inward facing part of the magnet is therefore of negativepolarization, since magnetic monopoles are for all practical purposesnon-existent. The block onto which the magnet is mounted is attached tothe frame of the lighting unit 4002 through a spring. The constructionof the spring can take any standard form, such as a helical spring, aflat spiral tension spring or a leaf spring to mention three specificexamples.

In FIG. 4, the force required to bend the ledge that connect the blockto the frame makes the equilibrium position of the block under normalgravity in the retracted position. On the opposite side of the blockstructure of the apex is an indentation of dimensions complementary withthe block described above. At the innermost part of the indentation amagnet is mounted of dimensions identical or similar to the magnetmounted onto the block described above.

The orientation of the polarization of the magnet is inverse that of themagnet on the block. In the example given above, that means the outwardfacing side of the magnet in the indentation is of negativepolarization. In this embodiment of the innovation, there are no movingparts within the indentation.

As two lighting units are put in each other's vicinity with the apexesappreciably or fully aligned, the magnetic attraction between thepositively polarized magnet of the block and the negatively polarizedmagnet within the indentation creates a force that pulls the twolighting units together, and pulls the block out of its retractedposition and into the indentation.

The block can either fill the indentation, or leave some empty spacebetween the block and the bottom of the indentation, which implies thetwo magnets are not in physical contact. In this configuration theconnector has been actuated.

The actuation is possible under the following force conditions: First,the magnetic force pulling the block towards the magnets in theindentation at a separation equal to or somewhat greater than the depthof the indentation is greater than the spring plus gravitational forceexerted on the block to remain in its retracted position. Under theseconditions the block can begin to insert itself into the indentationwithout any further force being applied by the user. Second, as theblock moves into the indentation, the attractive magnetic force shouldcontinue to be greater than the force from the spring to pull the blockdeeper. Since the magnitude of magnetic force increases inversely as thedistance is shortened, and the spring force increases linearly at smalldeviations from equilibrium according to Hooke's Law, the secondcondition holds as long as the first condition holds for any meaningfulspring design. Third, at some extension of the block from its retractedposition, a force equal to the magnetic attraction force will appear,which will define the equilibrium position of the block in the fullyactuated state of the magnetic block.

The origin of the counteracting force can either be the ubiquitousexchange repulsive force between molecular matter, or it can be aconsequence that the spring has been extended to a point where the forceincreases rapidly in a nonlinear fashion.

As the block enters the indentation and reaches its fully actuatedstate, the construction locks the pair of lighting units in a positionthat keep the lighting units attached under both shear force in theplane of the lighting units and shear force orthogonal to the plane ofthe lighting units. Furthermore, the magnetic force prevents aseparation of the lighting units within the plane of the units undermodest separating force. Overall, this implies that the magnetic lockingmechanism affords the pair of joined lighting units with significantrigidity under gravitational or other force perturbations that areexpected under normal use of the assembly.

By optimizing the spring constant, the depth of the indentation, themagnitude of the magnetic moments, and the point at which the springextension enters a highly non-linear domain, the mechanical propertiesof the locking mechanism can be tuned for ease of use, and sturdiness toshear force and separating force.

Qualitative guidelines include: the magnetic force in the fully actuatedstate should not exceed the limit for what is convenient for a human toapply in order to separate a pair of lighting units; and the depth towhich the block enters the indentation should be sufficient to provideresistance to shear force. However, above a certain depth littleadditional resistance is afforded, and the structural challenge toaccommodate the larger block within the apex without a too great loss ofilluminated surface puts practical limitations on what block size isoptimal. In fact, by giving room for some out-of-plane shear force, thepair of joined lighting units becomes more convenient to separate sincethe user can slightly bend the two units relative to each other in orderto reduce the magnetic force.

Another embodiment of a magnetic locking mechanism 500 is shown in FIG.5. The mechanism has some similarities with what was described above.The two sides of an apex have different parts of the lock that is formedas a pair of aligned lighting units is brought together. One sideincludes a rod 5002 that is retracted within the apex, held in place bya spring 5004, in this embodiment a helical spring. The rod contains amagnetic component with an outward facing side of a certainpolarization.

The other side of the lock is an indentation within which a physicallyrigid magnet 5006 is situated, where magnetic polarization is oppositeof the rod. In order to provide a very strong resistance to a separatingforce within the plane of the light units, the embodiment in FIG. 5contains a ledge into which the rod 5002 can attach. That means that inthe fully actuated state, the rod locks with an additional non-magneticmechanism to the other lighting unit (, hence making the force neededfor separation very high. Only if the elastic structure that controlsthe relative position of the ledge and the plane of the lighting unit ispressed does the rod move out of the hole and allows the user toseparate the lighting units with a reasonable force.

The embodiments described herein address the mechanical connectionbetween lighting units, and share the property that magnetic force pullsa lock into place that affords rigidity to the assembly.

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B provide illustrations 600A and 600B of anotherembodiment, whereby an aperture of a lighting unit is shown in greaterdetail. The example aperture 6002 has a reduced profile by way offlanges 6004 and 6006, which help retain a male connector portion inplace. These flanges 6004 and 6006 allow for fastener free connection ofthe male connector and the female aperture and prevent movement in onedirection. In some embodiments, a cutout 6010 is provided so that a usercan easily interact with a male connector that is residing within theaperture 6002 (e.g., the user can slide the connector and put force onit to remove it from the aperture 6002). Protrusions 6008 are shown(there may be more or less but four are illustrated), and in someembodiments, these protrusions 6008 can include a conductive material(for transferring electricity or data).

In some embodiments, protrusions 6008 have spring characteristics thathelp bias their positioning and orientation an upwards position. When amale connector is received by aperture 6002, the male connector pressesdown on protrusions 6008 such that protrusions 6008 push up on maleconnector and hold the male connector against flanges 6004 and 6006 toprovide for securement in both a shearing direction and ainsertion/removing direction. The spring tension on the protrusions 6008can be set such that on the application of force above a separationthreshold, the protrusions 6008 are detachable from the male connectorand thus the male connector can be removed from the aperture 6002.

Another embodiment employs the same mechanism as FIG. 5, and in additionalso provides electrical connection. The block that enters theindentation is equipped with electrical connection points, for exampleso called pogo pin connectors. Inside the indentation the receivingconnection points are constructed as well, such that once they establishcontact with the pogo pins, an electrical signal can travel between thetwo lighting units. An illustration 700 of the embodiment is given inFIG. 7.

The middle two pins in FIG. 7 are the pogo pins that create theelectrical connection; the outer two pins are the magnets. Pogo pinconnectors are spring loaded (springs shown at 7002), such thatcompression of the pin is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition forelectrical conduction. Additional safety is provided to the constructionsuch that when the pogo pins are exposed, the risk of accidentalelectrical shock is reduced below acceptable limits set by safetycertification standards, such as those by the Underwriters LaboratoriesInc.™ (UL). The electrical connector can take other forms too, such ascompression connectors. The compression connector shares the featurewith the pogo pin connector that compression is required to make theconnector able to transmit electricity. Other connectors that do notrequire any compression or other actuation are also possible, like a twopiece connector, conceptually similar to the connectors used in vacuumcleaners, floor lamps, battery chargers, that are plugged into a wallsocket.

Although feasible, these connectors would create a visibly distinctprotrusion on the lighting unit, which in applications would be anundesirable feature of the product aesthetic and usage.

Another embodiment that combines electrical and mechanical connectionusing springs and pogo pins is given in the illustration 800 of FIG. 8.In that case the pogo pins (or other electrical connectors) are on theends of the block and the magnet is in the middle 8002, and the spring8004, 8006 that keeps the block in a retracted position in the absenceof an attractive magnetic force is of a helical form. The fundamentalaction is the same as the embodiment in the illustration in FIG. 7. Theoptimization considerations of magnetic magnitude, block size and springconstant as described in relation to the previous embodiment applieshere as well.

The embodiments described above have the magnetic structure on theexterior of the product. The embodiments as described are also limitedto an assembly of a pair of lighting units with the plane of the twounits aligned. In other words, a three-dimensional assembly is notpossible. In FIG. 9 an illustration of an embodiment is given thatenables a three-dimensional assembly 900. Within the frame of thelighting unit, a hollow space is created within which a cylindricalmagnet is placed. The hollow space is in the shape of three partiallyoverlapping cylinders of a diameter equal to or slightly greater thanthe diameter of the cylindrical magnet.

The construction allows the magnet to roll within the hollow space as afunction of the gravitational and magnetic force it experiences. Byshaping the hollow space as described, the position of the magnet withinthe space has under typical force conditions three stable points. Whenanother lighting unit of identical construction is brought within rangeof the former, the magnet in the other lighting unit will attract themagnet in the given lighting unit. The two magnets roll into the stablepoint where the two magnets are as close as possible.

The attractive force provides a mechanical connection of the twolighting units, which provides rigidity to both shear force and aseparating force in the plane of the two lighting units. Unlike the lockembodiment the rigidity to shear force is expected to be lower since nomechanical interlocking takes place. The advantage of the embodiment isthat with a relatively small space used to contain the mechanicalconnection components, the assembly can be made three-dimensional sincetwo sides can be joined at an angle.

Furthermore, the surface can be completely free of any surfaceprotrusions or indentations because the magnet is hidden within theframe, since the attractive force derives from the magnetic fieldinduced by the magnets. In order for the magnetic field to reach outsidethe frame, the following factors of the design should be concurrentlyconsidered: the magnitude of the magnetic moment, the membrane widththat separates the two magnets in the two lighting units, and themagnetic permeability of the material the frame of the lighting unitsare made of.

Considerations include: The greater the magnetic moment, the fartherfrom the magnet there will be a significant magnetic potential, whichmeans the membrane width can be greater. The greater the magneticpermeability of the material, the more different the field lines willtravel compared to free air; there is no trivial relation to use topredict what will happen as the material is changed, since shape playsin as well. However, if the magnet is fully enclosed in a material ofhigh permeability, such as nickel, iron or an alloy like Mu-metal, themagnetic field outside the enclosure is expected to be considerablyreduced. If the magnet is fully enclosed in a material with magneticpermeability equal or close to air, such as plastic, copper, wood andaluminum, the magnetic field is unperturbed or moderately perturbed, andhence the relative separations of the pair of lighting units at which alarge enough magnetic force still exists to lock the two units, is veryclose to the hypothetical case where the magnets are suspended in freespace.

The embodiment in FIG. 9 is designed to jointly consider the selectionof frame material, magnetic moment and membrane width in order to attainthe appropriate attractive force between the pair of lighting units.

The interior magnet in the previous embodiment can optionally bedesigned to provide electrical connection as well. The illustration inFIG. 9 includes copper connectors, both on the exterior that contactsthe corresponding connectors on an adjacent lighting unit, and interiorones wrapped around the magnet. The interior connectors around themagnet are connected to the electronics within the lighting unit.

The exterior connection points have an inward facing side, whichconnects with the copper around the magnet. As the magnet rolls into anew position because of exterior magnetic and gravitational forces,electrical transfer through another set of exterior copper connectors isenabled, while the other two contact surfaces transmit no electricity.

In various embodiments where one or more contacts are formed such thatelectricity can be conducted between the two joined units, data can alsobe transferred. The data transfer is accomplished in a serial fashion(or other fashion) by any of the methods of encoding data available inthe literature.

One such method is amplitude modulation, where the amplitude of theelectrical signal is modulated between two discrete values that thereceiving processor or other computing device map to a binary value thatis part of a binary string that encodes the data. Another such method isfrequency modulation, where the frequency of the electrical signal ismodulated between two discrete values that the receiving processor orother computing device map to a binary value that is part of a binarystring that encodes the data.

The data can be transmitted over the connection that also transmitselectrical power between units, which is substantially identical to themethod known in the literature as powerline communication (PLC). Thedata can be transmitted over a connection dedicated to the data signalby itself. This requires an additional pin and conductive wiring to beadded to the construction, but it can simplify the logical instructionsthat have to be executed in order to interpret the data signal.

The rate at which data can be sent over this connection is in the samerange as the serial connections in the literature, which are used incomputer hardware, and can range from 300 bits per second to 115200 bitsper second. The connection may at the microscopic level containimperfections or mismatches, which in turn cause noise in the signal.Standard methods of digital signal processing can be employed to reducethe impact of this for any pin construction that is able to form areasonable physical contact. For any of the embodiments described it cantherefore be assumed that the data is not altered as it is transmittedover the connection.

In some embodiments, parallel communication approaches may also beutilized.

The ability to transmit data between two connected units in the assemblymeans that one microprocessor or other computing device connected to theassembly at any connection point can send a string of data to, orreceive a string of data from, any of the units in the assembly. If thecomputing device is additionally connected to an antenna, it can receivedata from an external source that is not connected by wire to theassembly, and transmit that data, or part thereof, throughout theassembly, or vice versa where data generated in the assembly is sent toan external device.

Another embodiment of a magnetic mechanical connection is one withexposed strips of magnets. Each magnet is mounted to the frame such thatit only exposes a side with one magnetic polarization. This solution hasproperties similar to the embodiment described above and illustrated inFIG. 9: rigidity to separating and shear forces, although for shearforce less than the embodiments that includes a mobile block. In FIG. 10an illustration 1000 of this embodiment is shown in the applicationwhere four lighting units in the shape of an equilateral triangle havebeen assembled into a tetrahedron. For this to be possible, the magnetscan be mounted on the lighting units such that the polarizations arecompatible and without a net repulsive magnetic interactions in any ofthe configurations that are part of the intended use.

Each corner connection 10004, 10006 is shown with opposing pairs ofmagnets at each apex. Opposing pairs are used for magnetic attraction(pairs 10008 and 10010).

In FIG. 11 a representation 1100 of how the six magnets at each apex arepolarized, and how they are mounted at each side is given. Eachparenthesis in FIG. 11 contains three elements, which represent thepolarization of the three magnets that are both part of the same apexand on the same side; the order of the elements within the parenthesisare such that the left-most element represents the top-most magnet, themiddle element represents the middle magnet, and the right-most elementrepresents the bottom-most magnet.

The description of an element as being on the left or right, or a magnetas being on the top or bottom, are arbitrary; the salient feature of theabstract representation is that the representation is ordered and mapsto the ordered magnetic construction through a monotonic, and henceorder-preserving, function. Furthermore, the signs are arbitrary aswell, and only the relative polarization matters.

Given this representation, the symmetry properties of the design thatenables a construction of a tetrahedron through the joining of any setof sides, without any sides experiencing a net repulsive force are asfollows: First, the three magnets at any side and apex are polarized inan alternating fashion going from left to right in the representation.Second, the magnetic polarization of the apexes is preserved underrotations around a vector orthogonal to the plane of the lighting unit.In other words, each side is identical to the other. Third, the magneticpolarization of the apexes is inverted under rotations around a vectorin the plane of the lighting unit. In other words, two units can bejoined through a net attractive magnetic forces regardless if a planaror three-dimensional assembly is desired. The dashed lines in FIG. 11illustrate which apexes are in magnetic contact.

In another embodiment the electrical and mechanical connection iscreated through a secondary piece of material that is inserted into twofemale connectors on the two sides that are joined. The secondary piecein an example embodiment a PCB bridge and is comprised of a smallprinted circuit board, which hence enables electricity and optionallydata to be transmitted between the two joined panels.

The female connectors can be placed anywhere and in any number on thesides, but in order to attain symmetry with respect to the mechanicalforce, the one connector can be on the middle of the side. Because thebridge is only a few millimeters thick, it requires very little space tointegrate. It does however require the user to employ one additionalstep in the assembly process. An embodiment 1200 is illustrated in FIG.12.

As shown in the example of 1200, the female portion of the connectablesection of the panel may have a corresponding aperture 12002 that isdesigned to receive a male portion of a connector. As illustrated, theremay be one or more protrusions that aid in helping ensure that a stableconnection is established between the one or more panels. For example,the protrusions may be spring-loaded clips that also serve to transferpower and/or data, in addition to providing mechanical stability. Theprotrusions aid in biasing the male connector portion snugly in theaperture 12002.

Aperture 12002 and correspondingly the male connector portion may besized such that a friction fit can be established, the aperture 12002having an opening in one direction (e.g., the insertion/removal axis)and solid structural features in the other direction. The protrusions,in some embodiments, are designed to increase resistance to accidentalremoval when shear forces are encountered, while facilitating removal byproviding a nominal resistance when a user deliberately pulls or insertsthe male connector in the insertion/removal axis. As forces encounteredby the assembly that are not intentionally caused by a user may be inmultiple directions, this configuration may be beneficial in improvingconvenience of re-assembly and re-configuration of the assembly whileproviding some measure of stable coupling between panels when a user isnot actively removing or rearranging panels.

The electrical connection can, for example, be created through a bentsheet of metal on an exposed copper pad on the printed circuit board.The metal contacts are bent in a way that is flexible to compression. Asthe PCB bridge is inserted into the female connector of the panel, themetal contacts partially deforms and electrical contacts to metal padsinside the female connector are created. The reverse is also possible(e.g., metal pads on the male connector, metal contacts on female). Thesame connection takes place on the other panel, thus connecting the twopanels electrically. Because of the compression of the metal contact, aconstraining mechanical force that prevents the panels from fallingapart under gravitational or other reasonable perturbing force iscreated as well through the application of the PCB bridge. Similar tothe embodiments that included an interlocking block, the PCB bridgemakes the structure rigid to shear force in and out of the plane aswell. The PCB bridge is in other embodiments augmented with structuralcomponents that further strengthen the bridge in order to make it robustto bending and twisting forces that otherwise can irreversibly destroythe thin board. Strength against shearing forces that may lead tobending, twisting, inadvertent movement is important in the context ofreconfigurable panels. If the panels are not stable or strongly coupled,the entire assembly or parts of it could fall and or be damaged. Damagedpanels may result in various safety issues (electrical risk, hazardrisk).

One example of the structural components is one plastic ridge or aplurality of plastic ridges glued to the PCB board, either orthogonal tothe side of the lighting units upon joining, or parallel to the side ofthe lighting units upon joining, or both parallel and orthogonal to theside of the lighting units upon joining. Another example of thestructural component is a plastic case that covers all but the metallicpads from view or touch by a user in addition to adding width and hencerigidity to the bridge. The electrical connections of one embodiment ofthe PCB bridge is shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 illustrates the circuitlayout 1300. This embodiment creates four electrically conductiveconnections.

The four connections are in the embodiment affording to theconstruction: power, ground, serial connection and a layout detectionpin (to be described in detail below). Other embodiments can becontemplated, where fewer pins are used to afford the construction withthe same set of properties as enumerated above. Other embodiments can becontemplated, where the physical layout of conductive traces aredifferent. There may be two separate channels, illustrated usingdifferent hatch lines at 13002 and 13004.

As described, in some embodiments, the same structural and connectivecomponents can be utilized to perform multiple tasks. For example,protrusions that help bias the connector in place within the aperturecan be conductive and designed not only to ensure a strong mechanicalconnection, but also to transfer power and/or data. Furthermore,mechanical characteristics of the connector and the apertures can behighly resistant against shear forces parallel to the connected portionsof the panels, but only somewhat resistant against forces along an axisof insertion/removal. Where there is only some resistance (e.g., up to athreshold), a sufficiently strong (but not too string) connection can bemade to ensure stable coupling, but also to permit easy removal andinsertion by a user without the aid of tools such as screws, latches,etc. According, a force threshold can be dependent on the direction ofthe force (e.g. parallel).

Layout Detection, Hardware And Software

Given a physical assembly of a plurality of lighting units mounted on awall, ceiling or other planar structure, the assembly should be mappedto a visual representation suitable for a screen, for example a touchscreen on a smartphone, tablet or a screen for a laptop or desktopcomputer. The purpose of such a mapping is that it enables a convenientmethod to control the numerous variables for the luminaire in order tocreate, select or configure one of the many varied lighting settings.The assembly can be arranged into continuous shapes.

Without a clear representation of the structure, the user would have toindividually address each triangle through a numerical or tabularrepresentation of each lighting unit without the information of how theindividual units are geometrically assembled as a whole. In order toachieve this, data should be communicated from a physical layer embodiedas hardware components communicating rudimentary electrical signals, toprogressively higher levels of abstraction that ultimately allows thedata to be understood in units that simplifies communication at higherabstraction layers between the panel assembly and a secondary device,such as a touch screen on a cell phone, a wearable wristband, a motiondetector or a digital stream of data of video, music or social mediacontent.

This section describes hardware and software aspects of the innovationmeant to address the described problem.

The basis of any method to construct a virtual representation of a givenphysical structure requires that each lighting unit have a uniqueidentifier (ID). The unique ID can be assigned during manufacturing andstored in non-volatile memory that is part of the lighting unitconstruction. This requires the ID to be globally unique, since at thetime of manufacturing it will not be known which lighting unit can becombined with which other lighting unit.

Alternatively, the embedded software can upon power up andinitialization ascertain the number of lighting units and assign alocally unique ID. Without loss of generality it can therefore beassumed that each lighting unit in any given assembly of a plurality oflighting units carries a unique ID that can be retrieved by softwarefrom either non-volatile or volatile memory that is a component ofeither the individual lighting unit, or part of the entire assembly oflighting units.

At the coarsest level of granularity, the method includes: (1) For agiven physical assembly of a plurality of lighting units, construct anabstract representation of how the units are connected. (2) Send adigital embodiment of the abstract representation over a wireless orwired connection to a device with a processor and a screen, such as asmartphone, laptop, or desktop computer. (3) The abstract representationis interpreted by software running on the processor of the receivingdevice and turned into a two-dimensional graphical representation of thephysical assembly. The primary quality metric of the method is visualsimilarity of the graphical representation compared to the physicalassembly. A secondary quality metric is the size of the abstractrepresentation when stored or transmitted digitally.

The method will be described by way of example. FIG. 14 is anillustration 1400 of two assemblies and their associated matrices.

In the left hand side of FIG. 14 a drawing of an assembly 14002 isgiven. The unique IDs have been arbitrarily set to 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4,without loss of generality. Below said drawing is the correspondingadjacency matrix 14006. This matrix is constructed such that theelements in the first row denote if the lighting unit with ID 0 isconnected to lighting units of ID 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, respectively. Forthis representation, connectivity to itself is not defined, and is henceset to null by definition. If a connection exists, the correspondingmatrix element is set to unit value. The matrix elements can take valuesfrom any binary representation, such as TRUE and FALSE, arrow up andarrow down, filled disked and empty ring, one and zero etc. Theadjacency matrix is a concept that is contemplated relating to graphtheory. Equivalent representations of an adjacency matrix, in particularan adjacency list are contemplated. The shortcoming of using theadjacency matrix as the abstract representation of the physical assemblyis that it is invariant to the symmetry operations: translation,rotation, mirroring. The first invariance is not a problem to theproblem at hand as long as the graphical representation is not intendedto visualize the position of the physical assembly relative to otherobjects in a room or other space.

The invariance to rotation is not a problem in case the user can rotatethe graphical representation through a touch interface, which is asimple operation commonly employed in contemporary applications of touchscreen interfaces. Alternatively, the lighting units can contain anaccelerometer which determines the direction of the gravity forcevector. The presumed orientation of the graphical representation wouldthen be such that the gravitational force vector points downwards on thescreen. The invariance to an in-plane mirroring operation is not aconcern either, since also the graphical representation is identicalunder that operation. The most problematic invariance is mirroringorthogonal to the plane of the assembly. On the right-hand side of FIG.14, the mirror image of the assembly on the left-hand side of FIG. 14 isgiven.

This is a distinct physical assembly; still it has an identicaladjacency matrix 14006 because of the mirror invariance. Hence, if theabstract representation is the adjacency matrix, it is possible that thephysical assembly looks like the left-hand side of FIG. 14, while thegraphical representation looks like the right-hand side of FIG. 14. Thiswould confuse a user and hence fail to meet the primary quality metricdefined above. One possible solution is to enable the user to mirror agraphical representation by pressing a button or performing some touchor swipe command distinct from a rotation touch or swipe command.However, that adds a required non-trivial input from the user, whichrarely are employed in contemporary applications of touch screendevices.

In order to break the invariance to mirroring symmetry operations, somefeature must be added to the representation that is not invariant tomirroring. One such feature is handedness or chirality, which is generalconcept commonly used in the theory of molecular structure, particlephysics and abstract topology. In FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C drawings ofphysical assemblies 1500A, 1500B, and 1500C, identical to the onesprovided in FIG. 14 are shown. To each lighting unit an arbitrary butdistinct index has been assigned to each side of the triangle, in theexample a, b, and c. Furthermore, the assignment is made under theconvention that going from a to b to c creates a clockwise motion.

The abstract representation of the physical assembly is given as amatrix very similar to the adjacency matrix, thus referred to as thechiral adjacency matrix. The first row in the chiral adjacency matrix atthe left-hand side of FIG. 15 represents that lighting unit 0 connectsto lighting unit 2 via side indexed c in lighting unit 0. The third rowof the same matrix, for example, represents that the lighting unit 2 isconnected to lighting unit 0 via its side indexed b, connected tolighting unit 1 via its side indexed c, and connected to lighting unit 3via its side indexed a. The physical structure in the middle of FIG. 15is mirrored, but uses lighting units that follow the clockwise indexorder. The two abstract representations are similar, however, becausethe connectivity of lighting unit 2 and 3 in particular, it isimpossible to make the abstract representation identical for theleft-most and middle assembly in FIG. 15. In the right-most drawing inFIG. 15, the left-most drawing has been mirrored, including the sideindices. The abstract matrix representation is identical, however, theclockwise index order is broken. In other words, as long as the softwareon the receiving device implements the clockwise index handednessconvention, the graphical representation of the physical assembly willbreak the invariance to mirroring and thus preserve the handedness andnot require a manual mirroring transformation by the user ascontemplated above. The representation is still invariant to rotationand translation. However, as argued above, these are less problematicinvariances to the primary quality metric.

A distinct method to obtain a graphical representation given a physicalassembly is to use the camera or other photosensitive component on asmartphone, laptop or desktop computer. By holding the camera up to thephysical assembly, then initiate a sequence where lighting units switchon and quickly off in the same order of the unique identifier. Since thesoftware of the smartphone app has access to the unique IDs, therecorded optical variation provides a mapping between the placement ofthe lighting units and their ID. As long as the optical device is keptrelatively fixed during the sequence, the recorded data also providessufficient information to derive orientation and relative location ofthe lighting units. A feature detection method can be applied todetermine where in the image at a given time the illuminated featureexists.

One embodiment of the hardware design at the physical layer to practicethe described innovation for layout detection and graphicalrepresentation is as follows. Each side of each panel is equipped withthe following output pins: power, ground, bidirectional serialcommunication and a dedicated layout detection pin. See FIG. 13 for anillustration of the circuit on the PCB in one such embodiment. The powerpin supplies electrical current from a power source, such as theelectrical grid or a battery, to all panels in order to drive DC overthe p-n junction of the LEDs, as well as to power any digital hardwarepart of the construction.

The power is connected in parallel over the entire assembly of lightingunits. The ground pin provides the standard connection to the electricalground reference point. The serial bidirectional pin enables data to betransmitted between lighting units. The data can transmit controlcommands across the lighting assembly in order to adjust relative drivecurrents through, for example, a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) method, orother current modulation methods. The serial connection can communicateother data represented in digital form between panels as well.

Examples of such applications include: audio signals detected by amicrophone connected to the assembly to a receiver that optionallyinterprets the meaning of the audio signal through natural languageprocessing (NLP) software; motion signals detected by a motion sensorusing passive IR or microwave signals to scan a room for motion of abody sufficiently large to be discovered by the radiation, whichsubsequently is interpreted by software to determine if the motionshould trigger a change of the lighting or another event, such as analert sent to a remote device; audio signals to a loudspeaker, whichinterprets the digital signals sent over the serial connection intovibrations of a membrane that are perceived as sound, which can be usedto equip a space with local sound and audio that can give guidance tothe persons occupying the space, jointly with a light signal.

Other applications where a digital signal is sent across serialconnections to auxiliary hardware physically attached to the lightingassembly can be contemplated. The layout detection pin transmits anelectrical signal that represents the unique side index described above.The electrical signal can for example differ in voltage between sides,and through a lookup table stored in non-volatile memory be mapped ontothe abstract index. For example, a voltage of −5 mV detected through anymeans well-known in the art by the microprocessor may be understood tomean side “a” of a triangle lighting unit. The pin connection hardwareis represented in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17. In FIG. 16, a microcontroller16002 is shown alongside communication interface 16004, that is incommunication with various panels 16006, 16008, and 16010. An alternateexample is shown in FIG. 17, where instead of having areceiver/transmitter at each panel, layout detection may be inferred bythe MCU as signals from each of the panels 17006, 17008, and 17010 maybe multiplexed together.

In addition to the method described above, the identical function ofcommunicating the index of the side can be performed using a reducednumber of pins. In particular, the layout detection method can beachieved by applying a multiplexing relay to transmit a signal betweenlighting units that enables an interpretation to an index in software.Additionally, the number of pins can be further reduced by combiningpower with communication. The addition of a digital signal to a harmonicor partially harmonic electrical current is known in the art and hasbeen applied in powerline communication (PLC).

Identical or similar signal processing technology can be applied to thecurrent invention in order to reduce the number of hardware pins, andinstead increase the logical processing of the power signal in thesoftware. Additionally, the number of pins can be further reduced to oneor zero should wireless power and wireless communication be employed forserial communication, layout detection and power transmission betweenlighting units. In embodiments that do not use a PCB bridge, rather ablock that enters an indentation through magnetic attraction, or anembedded cylindrical magnet, identical hardware technology is used toelectrically connect lighting units in order to enable the transmissionof data and layout information between units. Regardless of the methodto connect power and data to and from the lighting units and anyauxiliary devices, as long as the data transmitted conforms to thechiral convention described above, the physical layout can be detectedand accurately mapped to graphical user interface barring thelimitations described in the above section.

The method described allows lighting units to be added dynamically to analready existing assembly along with an appreciably instantaneous updateof the graphical representation. The chiral adjacency matrix describedalong with FIG. 15 can be updated as a new lighting unit is connectedthrough any of the physical connections described above.

The action to update the matrix can be triggered through a discoveredchange of the signal received through the layout pins. The status of thelayout pins can be regularly polled by a microprocessor somewhere in theassembly. The clock in a processor enables software to poll for changesin the layout pins every second, every 100th millisecond, every tenthmillisecond or any time-interval set as the invention is reduced topractice. A too frequent polling, and the processor is overly active,which may slow-down other operations or require a far from optimal powerconsumption by the processor. A too infrequent polling, and the updatingof the graphical representation will be lagging and may confuse the userif the physical connection between lighting units indeed formed asintended.

The action to update the matrix can alternatively be triggered throughan interruption signal sent by the layout pin as it receives a non-zerosignal. The interruption signal is received by the processor and anycurrent event that is handled is interrupted in favor of the matrixupdate routine. The advantage of an interruption implementation is thatthe state of the pins does not have to be regularly polled, thusconserving processor power. The disadvantage of an interruptionimplementation is that it requires a more complex logic to beimplemented.

In particular, the priority of the interrupt must be handledappropriately in order to not cause the control logic to create aconflicting command or corrupting digital memory as multiple processesrun or attempt to run concurrently. Input and output methods describedin the art can be used in embodiments of the current invention in orderto handle these type of operations for updating the graphicalrepresentation of the physical assembly.

Non-Limiting Illustrative Embodiments

The following section describes non-limiting examples of embodiments ofthe innovation and how its application addresses the lighting designproblems described above.

The configurable (e.g., highly configurable) nature of the lighting unitenables the user to build a custom luminaire that in turn can adopt anumber (e.g., a large number or a very large number) of states. Forexample, in a luminaire that consists of ten lighting units, where eachapex has one red, one green and one blue string of LEDs, with the drivecurrent to each string being independently controlled, and where eachapex is independently controlled from all other apexes in the lightingunit, and each lighting unit is controlled independently of every otherunit, and the drive current to each string of LEDs is discretized in 255unique values, the total number of optical appearances equals a valuewith over two hundreds digits when represented in the base 10 numeralsystem.

The variation is not only with respect to the nature of the opticalspectrum that is emitted, but the variation is also with respect to thespatial properties of where the light is emitted. This enables aplurality of functionally and visibly distinct lighting states, andequally important transitions over time between functionally and visiblydistinct lighting states.

An automatic variation of the hue, saturation and intensity of lightover an assembly of lighting units can be attained in a number of ways,given a physical assembly and its associated abstract representationthrough the hardware and software design described above.

The lighting setting of any given lighting unit can in embodiments wherethe entire surface of the lighting unit adopts a uniform or nearlyuniform color, be represented as a vector of three elements, eachelement representing either hue, saturation and brightness, or RGBvalues or CYMK values; bijective transformations between different colorrepresentations, hence the choice of mathematical representation isnon-limiting for the application to be described. A simple dynamiclighting schema is obtained by independently and randomly selecting thethree elements of the vector for each light unit at some pre-set orrandom frequency.

This embodiment creates a random (or appears to be random,pseudo-random, or patterned) visual appearance where lighting unitsswitch in a non-continuous manner between color and brightnessappearances.

Another embodiment assigns one lighting unit in a given assembly as thesource, which selects its three elements as described above. The otherlighting units acquire the value of their corresponding vectors througha diffusive process. The lighting units in direct proximity to thesource unit adopt identical vector values as the source following apre-set delay. The lighting units in direct proximity to the lightingunits in direct proximity to the source unit subsequently adopt theidentical vector values as the source, following an additional delay.This process continues until all lighting units part of the assemblyhave acquired the visual appearance of the source.

This embodiment still produces non-continuous transitions between pointsin the chosen color space. In order to make this process continuous to ahuman observer, the transition between two color points for any lightingunit acquired in either of the two ways described so far, is donethrough a continuous stepping of an interpolation function in someembodiments. The interpolation function can be linear, or a polynomialfunction or a spline interpolation. The speed at which the interpolationfunction steps from start to end point is a parameter of the design. Insome embodiments the vector elements that are selected are constrained,thus reducing the degrees of freedom that are dynamically explored. Theconstraint can for example be that the brightness remains constant. Onlyhue and saturation changes in these embodiments.

The constraint can for example be that the hue and brightness areconstrained to some set values. Only the saturation of the given colorchanges in these embodiments, which is suitable for applications whereonly a set kind of color, such as red, green, blue, purple, is desired.The constraint can for example be that only points on the black-bodycurve are selected, thus limiting the explored space of colors to whitelight. In some embodiments the source lighting unit is not jumpingbetween points in color space, rather continuously transitions betweennearby points in the color space. This too makes the transitions appearsmooth in terms of color and brightness, or color or brightness, to thehuman observer.

The choice of method to smoothly explore the color space can be aselection from a subset of points stored in volatile memory, selectedeither by a user through a touch-screen interface or through a pre-setnumber of options. The method can also be a random walk where each newpoint is selected through a small and random adjustment to the currentpoint. The method in which a vector setting is spatially transferredfrom one to neighboring lighting units can also follow any of aplurality of selected or pre-set methods. Another method uses thecoordinates of the graphical representation of the assembly to computethe principal component of the physical assembly with the greatesteigenvalue. The spatial coordinates of the lighting units in theassembly are then projected onto the dominant principal component. Thisoperation orders the lighting units according to their placement alongthe dominant principal component.

This order is used to order at what time a given panel acquires a sourcecolor. These embodiments all have in common that they generate all orsome of the aspects of the visual appearance in a random manner in orderto produce a visually pleasing, calming, exciting or attractive to thehuman gaze lighting designs. Color variations of these kinds areillustrated in FIG. 18. In FIG. 18, illustrations 1800 of differentprotocols are shown in various screenshots 18002, 18004, 18006, and18008. Each of these show different options for controllingvisualization for a user. For example, a user is able to pick colorsfrom a palette, assign colors to specific panels, provide a path throughwhich transition effects can occur, provide a “wheel” of colors that theassembly cycles through, etc. As illustrated in the screenshots, thelayout detection can be advantageously utilized in the rendering of theassembly on the user's graphical user interface or in the generating andcontrolling of visualization effects.

The variations of the lighting can follow protocols without a randomcomponent, and rather simulate specific types of lighting or embody someset function where a random variation is undesirable. Illustrativeembodiments of this kind are given next.

An illustrative embodiment includes simulated sunrise and sunset. Thetransition of daylight that humans have evolved to includes variationsin where in the sky the light predominately emanates from as well as theproperties of the optical spectrum. In the evening the sun is low and inline with one's eyes and it has an amber or red appearance, because theincreased Rayleigh scattering implied by the molecular composition ofthe lower levels of the atmosphere, which removes virtually all bluelight. In the middle of the day the sun creates a light from high aboveone's eyes at a high intensity and with more blue light in the lightmixture. This description includes variations in intensity, opticalspectrum and locus of the light. These are all properties that can berecreated in an integrated manner at an arbitrary accuracy in thecurrent innovation. Through an installation of lighting units with atleast non-zero variation along the vertical axis of the space, the locusof the light can be adjusted since the relative coordinates of thelighting units are known.

The variation of color coordinate and brightness is controlled throughadjustment of the drive current to the plurality of visibly distinctLEDs in the lighting units in ways described above. The rate of changebetween spatial and spectral start and end points can be governed eitherby a virtual time or a real-world time retrieved from a secondary deviceor from an application programming interface to a clock available on theWWW, such as a highly accurate reference atomic clock.

Another illustrative embodiment includes way-finding in an emergency.The use of moving light to guide people in an emergency, such as fire,may be contemplated. In some other approaches, this is an LED stripattached to the floor or the lower parts of the wall, where each LED isswitched on and off such that it creates the appearance that light ismoving in one direction along the strip.

The contrast between the illuminated LED when powered on and the darkerLED when powered off create the appearance of motion. In some approachesthe advantage of using the contrast between LEDs of different opticalspectrum is contemplated. The background light, against which theapparently moving light is contrasted, can be white light, and theapparently moving light can be red light. The potential advantage ofthis configuration is that the white background light provides generalillumination, while the red moving light creates the appearance ofmovement and hence aids with way finding. Other examples of backgroundand moving light are conceivable, as long as the color contrast issufficiently high. Some embodiments include variations in intensity,optical spectrum and locus of the light, properties that someembodiments can vary in an integrated manner.

An illustrative embodiment includes high brightness surfaces to regulateseasonal affective disorder (SAD) or other health condition. The levelsof the serotonin hormone in the brain depends on access to sunlight andin particular that with increased luminosity the serotonin levelsincrease.

This relation has been exploited in creating specialized lamps and roomsfor individuals that experience SAD. With the luminaire described,because of its high surface area, adjustable light spectrum and abilityto program to individuals, it can be used for this application whenneeded, but reconfigured for general lighting, mood lighting or similarwhen the therapeutic application is done. Because of the softwareintegration of the luminaire, the tuning can furthermore be doneautomatically based on real-time biometric data that are transmittedusing a wearable device.

These devices are measuring properties of the person wearing it, such asheart-rate, heart rhythm, brain waves, speed of walking, blood pressure,eye movement, arm movement, breathing frequency and rhythm. Through asoftware abstraction as described in the background, the exact nature ofhow the data is measured is not limiting to the application described.As long as the data on the biometrics are transferred in a standardformat at a higher abstraction layer, the processor controlling thelighting units can obtain the value and through a pre-set table, or alearned parametric function, map the measured biometric to a desiredlighting state, able to either enhance a good health state of the humanin the space or modulate a potentially detrimental health state throughvisual sensations created by the assembly of lighting units. The visualsensation can include vertical, horizontal and other spatial variations,in addition to hue, saturation and brightness.

An illustrative embodiment includes visual enhancement of rhythmic oremotive audio signals. Audio signals can create rhythmic sensations andin a given cultural context evoke emotions. Lighting has similarabilities. The current invention enables embodiments where a digitalaudio signal and optionally metadata pertaining to audio genre,beats-per-minute, artist, user keywords or other classifications, areobtained by the controlling processor.

Through a table, genre and beats-per-minute can be mapped to a dynamicor static lighting state. For example, a song perceived as sad in agiven cultural context, such as Turning Tables by Adele, Utsusemi byTakanashi Yasuharu, or the Moonshine Sonata by Beethoven, could througha metadata field, that is categorizing the mood of the song, be visuallyrepresented and emotionally strengthened by a pale blue light with unitsof higher saturation diffusing between lighting units in a rateproportional to the beats per minute. For example, a song that containstransitions between slow parts and rapid and powerful and excited parts,such as This Love by Pantera, Mont. by Frank Zappa, or the Summer violinconcerto by Vivaldi, could through an method that infers changes torhythm or amplitude, change the brightness and hue as the audio changes,in particular to further emphasize the transitions in the song. Themethod can in some embodiments be a discrete Fourier transform on asubset of the digital audio channels to infer rhythms and beats, or apredictive method, such as decision tree, neural network or supportvector machine that is a learned method to infer subjective soundproperties from relative or absolute properties of the digital audiochannels. The audio signal in this embodiment is obtained from asoftware interface, but it is contemplated it can also be obtained froman auxiliary microphone that record audio variations in the space wherethe lighting assembly is installed.

FIG. 19 is a block schematic diagram 1900 illustrating components of asystem, according to some embodiments.

A lighting device may be provided wherein there is a controller device1901 that provides various command and control signals to variousconfigurable lighting units 1912, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1920. In thisexample, only one of the configurable lighting units 1912 is connectedto the controller device 1901.

Controller device may include various units, which may be implemented byway of physical circuitry, systems on a chip, field programmable gatearrays, microprocessors, computer readable media, etc., and these unitsinclude controller unit 1902, power delivery unit 1904, layout detectionunit 1906, effect rendering unit 1908, networking unit 1910, and datastorage 1950. These units cooperate with one another to provide variouslighting effects across configurable lighting units 1912, 1914, 1916,1918, 1920, such as visualizations, transitions, selected activations ofindividual lighting units, etc.

There may be more configurable lighting units and configurable lightingunits 1912, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1920 are shown as examples. Theseconfigurable lighting units can be remove-ably coupled together usingone or more connectors, the plurality of configurable lighting unitsforming one or more continuous shapes that are reconfigurable throughre-arrangement of the plurality of configurable lighting units. Thesecontinuous shapes may be shapes pleasing to the eye, and users may seekto rearrange, move, add, remove lighting units as they see fit. Thesystem allows for flexibility in implementation of the shapes, and insome embodiments, is designed for “hot swapping” of lighting units. Eachof the lighting units 1912, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1920 and controller device1901 can be connected to one another by way of specialized connectors,which are specifically designed to provide (1) mechanical stability, (2)power propagation, and/or (3) signal propagation. Each of the lightingunits 1912, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1920 can be individually controlled tomodify characteristics of lighting being provided. For example, lightingmay change from a illumination level, a color, an effect (e.g., blink),and so forth.

The connectors can be male or female, or a combination of both. In someembodiments, the lighting units 1912, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1920 each havecorresponding apertures that fit with connectable subsections, and eachof the lighting units may have multiple connectable subsections so thatthere is flexibility in placement of connections. The connectors aredesigned for cooperation with structural characteristics of apertures sothat they can be stable, most importantly, in a shearing direction (ordirections other than the directions of insertion and/or removal), andsecondly, to provide some level of resistance in the direction ofinsertion/removal (e.g., by way of biasing protrusions).

The connectors provide removable coupling. Not all embodiments requirephysical connection, per se. For example, a magnetic connection over theair may be possible, with power, data, etc., transmitted via inductionor other wireless means. However, it is useful to have the removablecoupling only resist up to a particular threshold of force beforepermitting an uncoupling, so that users are able to operate the removalby their bare hands without the aid of equipment, or removal of latches,complicated fasteners, etc. This is helpful where speedy set up anddelivery is important (e.g., in a nightclub, a moving assembly, a stageset).

The power delivery unit 1904 may be an AC or a DC source, and providespower to a subset of lighting units (one is shown here), which thenpropagate power to the other lighting units by way of theirinterconnections. Control signals are also propagated accordingly suchthat the lighting units can cooperate in rendering pleasing visualeffects. The power delivery unit 1904 may determine the amount of powerto draw from a power source, and in some embodiments, may activelycontrol the drive currents that are provided to the lighting elements ofthe one or more lighting units. Various aspects of power flow can becontrolled, for example, a total current, a total voltage, an overallpower, etc. Power delivery unit 1904 may also be configured to operatein various resting modes to conserve electricity.

Layout detection unit 1906 may operate in cooperation with data storage1950 to maintain one or more data structures holding representations ofhow the system has detected the configurable lighting units to beoriented or coupled to one another. This layout may be maintained over aperiod of time using data structures that utilize representations apartfrom (e.g., irrespective, other than by) of rotation, translations, etc.to reduce overall processing and memory requirements (in some cases, theavailable storage in storage 1950 is constrained). The layout detectionunit 1906 may receive various stimuli propagated through the variousinterconnections, such as interrupt signals representative of a unitbeing added or removed, etc., and these interrupt signals may begenerated by the units themselves or by neighboring units detecting achange. The layout detection unit 1906 may also maintain a graphrepresentation of the specific interconnections between labellededges/vertices of lighting units such that it can utilize computer-basedpathfinding techniques to maintain one or more efficient communicationpaths (or identify potential loops) in sending signals to the one ormore lighting units. In some cases, the layout detection unit 1906 maybe considered a geometry monitoring unit or engine.

The layout, for example, may be maintained as linked list datastructures suitable for storing graphs, or specially configured matricesthat are updated periodically based on modifications to the layout. In aspecific example, the layout detection unit 1906 may be configured toperform derivations of an array of integers based on data indicative ofcoupling characteristics between individual configurable the assemblythrough a set of one or more physical connections, such that any twopotential assemblies that are geometrically distinct irrespective oftranslation or rigid-body rotation generates distinct arrays ofintegers, and such that any two potential assemblies that aregeometrically indistinct following translation or rigid-body rotation,generates identical arrays of integers.

Layouts and physical arrangement can also be represented by way of anadjacency matrix, an adjacency list, and a distance matrix, amongothers, and a coordinate dictionary based be maintained at least on theconnected graph system. Coordinate dictionaries are useful inidentifying specific lighting units to send instructions to.

The lighting units, in some embodiments, have identifiers assigned tothem by the layout detection unit 1906. Vertices or edges of the unitsmay also be identified. In other embodiments, lighting units areprovided with hardcoded identifiers when manufactured. In someembodiments, connectors may be assigned identifiers, or have hardcodedidentifiers when manufactured. These identifiers, for example, may beindicative of the capabilities available on the lighting units or theconnectors.

Automated graph traversal approaches can be utilized to identifyneighboring sides, connectors, etc. For example, the ordering of theportion of the index that denotes the side of the lighting unit can be agradual increase of the index as neighboring sides are traversed in aclockwise manner (or counterclockwise), up until all sides have beentraversed. Where there are a large number of lighting units (e.g., 30+),the traversal of the interconnections is non-trivial. Data stringsmapped to an ordered index through one or more logical rules executed ona processor can be utilized to communicate layout modifications and/orconnector movement. Polling approaches can be utilized to assess updatesperiodically.

The effect rendering unit 1908 may generate one or more visualizationsin cooperation with the layout detection unit 1906, whereby thevisualizations utilize the detected layout in producing effects that, insome embodiments, are more complicated than effects that are nave aboutlayout. For example, knowledge of the layout can be used to set boundsof a particular visual effect, determine centroids, etc. In a naïveapproach, on the other hand, all visualizations would have to radiateoutwards from the controller as the nave controller would not know wherethe lightings ended or where edges/vertices would be. Similarly, somevisualizations take advantage of physical features of the shape createdby the lighting units (e.g., effects that “wrap around” edges, reflectat edges, travel around the edges of the overall shape).

The networking unit 1910 may be in communication with various computingdevices having graphical user interfaces (e.g., to controlvisualizations), or with various networked computing devices, such asservers, cloud-based controllers, etc. For example, networking unit 1910may be used in relation to an art exhibit where information from onegeographical region is used to control the lighting provided in a remotegeographical region as an artistic effect.

FIG. 20 is another example block schematic 2000, and configurablelighting unit 1918 was removed and configurable lighting unit 1920 isnewly added to the system, and further an additional sound detectionunit 2002 is connected to a lighting unit 1914.

In relation to the addition and removal of the configurable lightingunits, the nearest neighbor from which the connection was removed(lighting unit 1916) can initiate a signal indicating a change, or thenew lighting unit can send a signal announcing its presence (lightingunit 1920). In other embodiments, the system can simply wait until a newpoll is conducted to identify the removal or addition of units.

In this example, a sound detection unit 2002 is provided. The sounddetection unit 2002 can be a separate connector that can be connectedindirectly to the controller device 1901 by way of sequential couplingbetween lighting units, but in other embodiments, the sound detectionunit 2002 can be incorporated into controller device 1901.

Sound detection unit 2002 may have a connected audio receiver (e.g.,microphone) that is configured to provide a digital audio representation(or, in some cases, analog) based at least on the audio signal. Theaudio signal could be ambient sound, voices, music, etc. Other stimulimay be considered, and the examples are not limited to sound (e.g.,security camera footage, infrared movement detection). The audioreceiver need not be connected to the sound detection unit 2002directly. For example, a remote audio receiver can be utilized so longas the signals can be presented to sound detection unit 2002 (e.g.,using a panel connected to a ballgame stadium to render visualizationsbased on detected noise levels).

In the audio control example, the lighting units may be interconnectedlighting components that are interconnected in physical arrangement. Theaudio detection aspect may be combined with the electronicrepresentation of the physical arrangement such that linkages indicativeof geospatial relations between interconnected lighting components ofthe plurality of interconnected lighting components are utilized ingenerating audio visualizations. In this embodiment, the effectrendering unit 1908 may further be configured as an audio visualizationunit that configured to provide a plurality of lighting activationinstructions generated in accordance with the digital audiorepresentation.

The lighting activation instructions including timed instruction setsrepresentative of at least one of (i) a color coordinate, (ii) anintensity level, and (iii) a desired geometric position of the lightingactivation, which is then utilized to select an individualinterconnected lighting units for rendering of a lighting effect that isgenerated in cooperation or in response to with the received audiosignal.

An improved auditory and visual experience may be provided to users byway of the additional sound detection unit 2002. Where controller device1901 and sound detection unit 2002 are not the same device, controllerdevice 1901 may be configured to identify a communication path betweenthe controller device 1901 and sound detection unit 2002 and increasethe priority of communications along such path to reduce potentiallatency in sound detection and effect rendering. Various calibration andsequences can be used to ensure that sound detection unit is operatingproperly in responding to various spectrums of sound.

The sound detection unit 2002 operates alongside layout detection unit1906 in periodically a center of geometry of the physical arrangement orother points of geometry (e.g., centroids, points of intersections,etc., and various effects can be generated that take advantage of therepresentation of the physical arrangement as a reference index value toidentify, for example, interconnected lighting components based on acorresponding degree of separation from the center device. As a specificexample, path-based lighting activation instructions may be generatedwhere the plurality of lighting activation instructions include at leastvisually representing a geometric pattern that traverses a path throughthe one or more interconnected lighting components. In determiningvarious geometric characteristics, heuristic approaches, such asapproximating the structure as a ellipsoid, may be utilized to reducecomputational processing requirements.

Sound visualization effects can be generated along with transitionpatterns where a transition pattern is expected, and these patterns canbe layered on top of existing visualization effects to provide animproved auditory experience. For example, the visualization effects maybe responsive to information obtained in relation to specific frequencyranges, and rather than having a single effect on at once, multipleeffects can be layered over one another by way of multiple sets oflighting activation instructions, each of which interact with oneanother in potentially additive, subtractive, or transformative manners.

The method and systems described above to practically accomplish thevisualization of audio and music in particular, requires several stepsof logical processing:

First, represent the audio in an abstract and compact manner suitablefor digital processing; second, represent the geometry of the assemblyof lighting devices; third, map the audio representation onto lightvariations across the geometry of the assembly in a manner such that theco-variation of audio and light is perceived as harmonious by a humanobserver. The steps require both an understanding of how audio isperceived by a typical human observer and how audio manifest itselfphysically, in addition to how light is perceived.

In the following sections this problem and the methods invented toaddress it are described in detail. It is understood that the methodscan be applied to lighting devices other than the lighting paneldescribed above.

Accordingly, the methods of audio visualization described below are notlimited to the lighting panel, and may be applicable to otherillumination devices. Applicant has developed both technologies, andwhile each technology is innovative independently, Applicant has furtherfound that the combination of the configurable lighting units with theaudio visualization technology to be a particularly interestingapplication of the technology. Accordingly, there are embodiments wherethe configurable lighting units are controlled in accordance with theaudio visualization.

In some embodiments, the controller of the the configurable lightingunits may include an audio detection and visualization rendering module.In other embodiments, a separate audio detection and visualizationrendering module can be connected (e.g., using one of the connectorsdescribed herein or another type of connector) to the assembly (e.g., byway of an aperture in a configurable lighting unit) and the entirety ofthe assembly is able to utilize the audio detection and visualizationrendering capabilities. For example, the separate module connects to afirst configurable lighting unit that is not directly connected to thecontroller. A communication path can be formed from variousinterconnections within the assembly such that the controller and theaudio module cooperate with one another in rendering visualizationsresponsive to audio stimuli or other stimuli.

Context Aware Method for Audio Visualization by Illumination Devices

Embodiments described provide lighting devices adapted for providing aplurality of interconnected lighting components automatically controlledin accordance with an audio signal, along with corresponding systems,methods, and computer-readable media. The lighting device controls aplurality of interconnected lighting components interconnected in aphysical arrangement. Each of the plurality of interconnected lightingcomponents are configured to emit individually controllable light. Thelighting components are controllable in accordance with one or morereceived control signals and based on the geometry of the plurality ofinterconnected lighting components. The lighting components cause one ormore visualization effects in accordance with the audio signal. Thelighting components are controllable to provide discernable effects byway of the visualization effects and visually distinct output.

The device and/or controller circuits are configured to map a segment ofvarying audio to a segment of varying light output along dimensions ofthe optical spectra and dimensions of the spatial arrangement of thelight sources.

The Applicant has manufactured physical modular lighting devices thatare re-arrangeable by one or more users, the modular lighting devices,in concert, being arranged in various geospatial patterns.

In particular, the Applicant designs and develops control platformswhich include electronic circuitry configured specifically to generatecontrol instructions, which when processed by the modular lightingdevices, control the modular lighting devices to emit lighting havingvarious patterns and characteristics. In some embodiments, the controlplatforms may be controlled, for example, based on instructions receivedfrom computing devices having processors, memory, and storage.

In some embodiments, the control platforms are configured to operate asa standalone special purpose device wherein the control platforms, whilebeing capable of receiving signals indicative of modifications ofcontrol patterns, operate in a standalone manner wherein specific setsof patterns are loaded into memory and propagated, for example, based ona looping display of the patterns of the sets of patterns. The specialpurpose device as described may operate free of guidance from anyexternal computing device.

In U.S. Pat. No. 7,228,190, an apparatus is described that evaluates atleast one characteristic of the audio in a digital audio file and usesthat characteristic as input to a program that once executed generatesat least one lighting control signal in part based on the input audiocharacteristic. In contrast, some embodiments presently describedprovide how audio can be mapped along dimensions of the optical spectrumin a consistent manner.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,228,190 does not specifically address the issue ofmaking a determination of which lighting device to control on basis ofits spatial or other properties. The light output is simply defined asone or more light emitting devices existing in some undefined absoluteor relative location in space.

Some patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,875,787, discuss elements ofassigning a spatial quality to a light source given a particular audioquality. However, these examples have been limited to a visualizationthat has significance only to a description of musical properties suchas chroma, and using computer screens.

Audio Visualization Techniques and Methods

Some embodiments of the present application are configured to approachthe spatial dimension in more generally and with spatially configurableLED light sources.

Each lighting device exists in a spatial relation to all other lightingdevices, and accordingly, the system is defined as context aware.Various modules, including the rendering module, and a geometry moduleare utilized in the context of a larger system of audio and lightprocessing, and various types audio analysis and light display arepossible. The lighting devices may be physically connected to oneanother, wirelessly connected, or logically connected indirectly, forexample, through a server or other interface.

In addition to the above, provisioning visualizations and otherresponses in the context of lighting devices that are modular and/orgeospatially provided allow for further visualization effects andcontrols beyond those provided by conventional solutions. In particular,the effects may include specific implementations of audio and audiotransitions that in turn generate corresponding light transitions.

Conventional approaches may provide that audio at a particular point intime is used to define light output at a particular point in time.However, in some embodiments described herein, the system is configuredto encode transitions from a current to another light state, rather thanto a specific light state.

Technical challenges involved in controlling said lights include, amongothers, a synchronization error, which is particularly relevant if theaudio source is obtained from a microphone. Geospatial control ischallenging given signal propagation and an unknown set of geospatialparameters, which may be further exacerbated as modular units are notprovided in any pre-defined or static formation. In particular, as usersrearrange modular lighting units, the controller may be required toperiodically update and/or maintain an electronic representation of saidgeospatial parameters.

These geospatial parameters may require further processing to determinevarious geometric properties of the electronic representation, such asedges, centroids, vertices, clusters, etc.

The controller, in generating desirable visualizations, may require thecomputer generation of paths, based for example, on geospatialproperties, such as neighboring (adjacency or within a particularproximity) lighting modules, lighting modules determined to be on the“edges” of a particular pattern, lighting modules determined to beclustered together with one another, etc.

These paths may be utilized in the lighting of various patterns, forexample, lighting that radiates across a path to show a dynamicvisualization effect, etc. Such visualizations may be provided inaccordance with, or based at least in part on, an audio signal, orproperties thereof. The visualization may include activation of lightingmodules, modification of characteristics of the lighting, the generationof lighting transition effects responsive to audio transition effects,among others.

The generation of visualizations is computationally intensive, and insome embodiments, reduced representations and other computationalmethods are utilized to reduce the computational resources required togenerate the visualizations. In some embodiments, pre-processing of theelectronic representations of the geospatial state of the lightingmodules may be conducted to reduce real-time demands on processingpower. In some embodiments, the determination of the electronicrepresentations of the geospatial state is conducted on a periodicbasis. In some embodiments, the determination of the electronicrepresentations of the geospatial state is only conducted once, forexample, on power-on.

In a physical sense audio is a mechanical wave of pressure deviationsfrom an equilibrium pressure in a given medium. An audio wave can thusbe characterized in terms of its frequency, amplitude and phase. Theaudio wave is received by the human ear and the pressure oscillationsare subsequently interpreted as sound by the brain. Human perception islimited to waves that are of a frequency in the range 20 Hz to 20 kHz,with individual variations depending on general health, genetic factors,age or damage to the internal parts of the ear.

The ability to perceive audio at a given frequency depends on theamplitude. The joint dependence of frequency and amplitude for humanhearing can be described with an audiogram curve; for example,perception of audio of an amplitude less than 10 dB is limited tofrequencies between 250 Hz and 8 kHz. Most sounds, for example music andspeech, are comprised of a multitude of overlapping audio waves ofdifferent frequencies, relative amplitudes and phases, which varies overtime. It is this mixture of waves that creates sounds that carriesinformation, such as speech, or that makes two instruments playing thesame musical note sound distinctly different.

A particular form of mixture is obtained when the waves have differentfrequencies, but constrained to be a multiple of some base frequency.This produces a harmony of sounds when perceived by a human observer,rather than as a chaotic mixture of audio. Another particular mixture istwo waves of nearly identical frequency.

Human hearing has been found to exhibit frequency masking, where theability of the human observer to resolve two sounds close in frequencyplayed simultaneously is considerably impaired relative the case wherethe sounds are played individually. A third aspect of human hearing isthat sounds of different frequencies played after each other have beenfound to be easier to perceive as distinct if the frequencies are at thelower end of the frequency range of human hearing rather than at theupper end.

This subjective sense of what constitutes equidistant sounds in terms oftheir frequency or pitch, has been quantified in terms of a Mel-scale.These are three examples to illustrate that although sound in a physicalsense is a mixture of mechanical waves, the mixture undergoes a complextransformation as it is perceived by the human observer. This oftenmakes the analysis and study of the perception of speech, music andother complex audio can be done using another set of entities andproperties rather than the primitive wave properties. For music theseproperties include, but are not limited to, pitch, intensity, timbre,beat and chroma. The study of how sound is perceived is calledpsychoacoustics.

Light is similar to sound in that in a physical sense it is comprised ofa multitude of waves of different frequencies and intensities. The lightwaves that can be perceived by the average human observer areelectromagnetic waves of a relatively narrow frequency interval, 430 THzto 770 THz, or in terms of wavelengths, 390 nm to 700 nm.

Different frequencies are perceived as distinct colors to the averagehuman observer, and different amplitudes as different intensities.Structural variations in the eye caused by aging, damage to the retina,or genetic conditions can cause individual variations among humanobservers. Like sound, the perception of light by the human observerinvolves a complex transformation as the physical wave triggers aphysiological response, first in the eye and the retina in particular,then in the brain and the visual cortex in particular. For example,perception of power of light depends on the frequency, with green-yellowlight the optimum under well-lit conditions, so-called photoptic vision.

There are several mathematical representations of perceived color,including, but not limited to, red-green-blue (RGB) coordinates,hue-saturation-lightness (HSL), cyan-magenta-yellow-key (CMYK), wherebya perceived color is represented as a point in a mathematical space. Ata higher abstraction level, colors like music, are associated with moodsand psychological states. The associations between moods and colors arediscussed in fields as diverse as marketing, branding, interior design,holistic health and drug testing. In laboratory studies the popularassociations are not always reproduced, and the root-cause for anystatistically significant associations can be cultural, evolutionary orindividually formed, and hence vary across groups of people withdifferent dispositions with respect to the determining factors.

Given the similarities of light and sound, the co-variation of sound andlight over time can amplify, enrich or otherwise modulate the perceptionof a given setting, space or event by a human observer. Associations ofthis kind can be employed in entertainment, relaxation, learning,healing and commerce. Specific examples of associating music and lightis found in stage shows, where live music performances take place alongwith manual, semi-automated or fully automated control of stage lightingintensity, color and contrasts, in order to amplify sections of intenseaudio, or focus the audience on a solo by a single instrument or artist.

Home entertainment systems are another application where sound and lighthave been associated to provide a concurrent variation of audio andlight that is displayed on a computer or television screen, or asvariations on a simple liquid crystal display (LCD) screen part of ahome stereo system.

Conversion of audio to light in a semi-automatic or fully automaticmanner can be implemented using analog electronic or analog electronicand mechanical devices that through one or a plurality of components ofsound part of the audible spectrum, power mechanical or electroniccomponents, which generate a visual output. Audio is passed through aplurality of audio filters to generate a plurality of signals thatquantify the intensity of sound in separate frequency intervals or subbands.

The signals thus created are used to drive a plurality of electroniccomponents, which generate a visually distinct output.

For example, the signals from three ordered audio frequency sub bandscan be made to drive the three electron guns within a color televisioncathode ray tube. In addition, the audio signals can control thehorizontal and vertical synchronization signals of the cathodetelevision, which hence generates varying bands or rectangular patternsof colors on the television screen.

Other devices to display the varying colors with have been disclosed,but with the common feature that they display the visual output as aprojection onto a spatially rigid screen or surface. In some inventionsstereophonic sound is used as input.

The audio is encoded as two distinct signals, arbitrarily named left andright, which when transmitted to two spatially separate audio speakerscreates an illusion of a multi-directional audio source to the humanobserver. The two synchronous audio signals are processed by audiofilters in a manner similar to what is described in the earlierinventions. The plurality of audio signals are transformed into controlsignals for the visual output device, but in these inventions alsoincluding the creation of a two-dimensional coordinate, which specifiesthe center of a colored dot or other geometric shape, which can changealong with the audio, including its horizontal location to indicate achange in relative audio intensity in the left and right audio channels.

The apparatus used to create the visual output uses a plurality ofinterconnected electronic components, such as potentiometers, Zenerdiodes, capacitors, to embody the mathematical transformation from soundinput signal to light output signal. This obscures the nature of themathematical transformation, limits the type of transformations that canbe encoded given a fixed budget for the electronic components, as wellas limits in what regard a user can configure the transformation afterthe circuit has been built.

The input sound signal is initially mathematically decomposed using aFourier transform, which describes the audio as a finite or infinitelinear combination of a set type of base waves or base sounds, each at adistinct frequency. The linear combination can be analyzed against alibrary of reference sounds in order to extract which scale, octave,note or other entity defined in musical theory that was present in thereceived sound at a given point in time. The extracted scale or octaveis in some embodiments used to define a color, where hue and saturationcan be set as a function of the scale and octave, respectively. Ifmultiple colors are created from multiple sounds at a given point intime, they can be combined into a single color by overlaying them. Thespatial arrangement for the display of said can be to color a singleimage, or if a stereophonic input is employed, two spatially separateimages.

Another spatial arrangement that has been considered is a structurecongruent with the twelve-tone circle based on the chromatic scale inmusic theory. These visualizations have been contemplated to bedisplayed on a screen, such as an LCD. The methods are in part embodiedthrough software that encodes the mathematical transformations, whichare executed on a processor.

Other variations of a visualization of music are based on audioproperties less granular than variations to frequency or intensity, suchas music tune metadata derived from some audio representation orretrieved from a database. The metadata can be genre, mood orbeats-per-minute (BPM). Color, intensity or a set of screen coordinatesare defined as a function of the music tune metadata. The visual displaycan be for decorative purposes, or be a means to summarize musicproperties in an image or visualization.

Some embodiments described herein enable a human or machine to searchfor music tunes similar to a given tune, as defined by the less granularmusic tune metadata, through visual similarity rather than throughsorting and browsing multi-column tabular data. These visualizationshave compressed the audio variations over time, and are hence not ableto display a dynamic light visualization concurrent with the playing orperformance of the music tune.

The audio visualizations described so far are intended to be displayedon a separate screen or device. Some devices can map the visualizationonto a set or network of separate lighting devices, such aslight-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs placed somewhere inthree-dimensional space.

The audio is processed with a Fourier transformation in a manner similarto above, whereby a set of features are extracted, where the audio isobtained from a microphone, or through the retrieval of a digital audiofile. The audio features are mapped to a set of lighting controlsignals, where the method of mapping is a programmable software executedon one or a plurality of processors on a separate computing device orpart of the light bulbs. The control signals are sent either by wire orwireless signal to the lighting devices, where the control signal can bemultiparametric, which includes intensity and color. The embodimentsinclude transformations of audio of a specific frequency range to aspecific color emitted by a specific light bulb in the network, or somecombination thereof.

The programming of the mapping of the audio to light is contemplated tobe done through a graphical user-interface (GUI) that enables the userto select from a list a specific mapping function, or where the mappingfunction is set by some metadata associated with the audio, such asgenre classification.

Some embodiments described herein are provided as operations that arepart of a process to convert audio into a visualization on a set oflighting devices, such as LED light bulbs or panels. The process maycontrol the manner in which audio features are mapped to light sourcesboth in terms of their optical spectrum as well as their location inthree-dimensional space. Embodiments described herein can provide a userwith the ability to spatially as well as optically configure thelighting devices without detailed programmatic input.

Some embodiments described herein are provided as operations that arepart of a method that derives and uses spatial context data of theindividual lighting devices as a visualization of audio is created. Asdescribed herein, some embodiments involve the processing of an audio tolight conversion, and illustrative embodiments are provided asnon-limiting examples of enhanced ways to experience audio and light bya human observer.

Data Flow and Processing

In order to automatically construct a mapping of sound to a plurality oflights of an arbitrary but known spatial arrangement, a number oflogical steps are implemented that involve a number of intermediate datastructures. The logic and data flow is outlined in this section in termsof a set of processing units or modules and their interdependencies withrespect to transmitted and received data. The details of each unit ormodule is described in subsequent sections. The processing units ormodules include computer hardware or physical parts or components of acomputer, which are tangible physical objects.

As shown in the example of FIG. 21, there can be two inputs to themethod, namely, an audio source 301 and data defining the physicalarrangement of lighting devices 303. In some embodiments the audiosource 301 is in the form of a mechanical wave of varying air pressure211 received by a microphone or generally a transducer 112 configured toreceive audio in at least a range of frequencies and amplitudes withinwhich music or sound is perceived by a human observer, such as 20 Hz to20 kHz, or 250 Hz to 8 kHz. In some embodiments the audio source 301 canbe received from a digital audio representation 213 over a connection406, as shown in the example of FIG. 22. A transformation can convertthe digital audio representation 213 to the audio source 301 as part ofthe method operations.

The digital format includes, but is not limited to the standard formatsWAV, MP3, MPEG, AIFF. The digital audio representation 213 is receivedfrom a transmitting device 312 that accesses or includes a digital musicdatabase, such as but not limited to a computer, smartphone, router. Thetransmission can be over a wireless connection 405, such as but notlimited to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE. In some embodiments the digital audiorepresentation is received from a transmitting device via a wiredconnection 405, such as but not limited to Ethernet, Power-LineCommunication (PLC) or a standard or proprietary serial communicationport or pin.

The physical arrangement of the lighting devices is in some embodimentsrepresented as a plurality of three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates ofthe center of each lighting device, or of any other consistently definedpoint of the individual lighting devices.

The Cartesian coordinates are stored in memory and transmitted betweenmodules as part of an array of integer or floating point numbers, whereat least one element in the array can be matched to the uniqueidentifiers of the lighting devices.

The physical arrangement of the lighting devices is in some embodimentsrepresented as a connected non-directional graph, where each edgebetween any two given nodes represents that the two correspondinglighting devices are spatially connected or spatial neighbors.Mathematically the graph can be represented as an adjacency matrix,adjacency list or distance matrix.

These entities are stored in memory and transmitted between modules asarrays of integer or floating point numbers. These arrays can bereceived through a connection between the physical arrangement and theprocessing unit 401, where wireless connections include but are notlimited to Bluetooth™, Zigbee™, Wi-Fi, LTE, and wired connectionsinclude but are not limited to Ethernet, PLC, standard or proprietaryserial ports or pins.

The physical arrangement representation can also include global geometrydata that applies to the entire assembly. For example, in someembodiments an array defines what the up-down direction is for theentire assembly, as derived from sensing the gravitational force orthrough a manual configuration via an auxiliary device, such as alaptop, smartphone with touch-screen interface or keyboard input.

Depending on the format the audio data is received in, the dataundergoes an initial transformation to a digital representation of theaudio wave 104. In some embodiments the representation is a discretedescription of the amplitude variation over time 203, which is astandard digital representation of audio in computers, compact discs,digital telephony, commonly but not necessarily obtained through apulse-code modulation (PCM). The audio is hence described as a finiteplurality of ordered frames.

Each frame is an element in an array of integers or floating pointnumbers, which represents the amplitude of the audio wave at the pointin time corresponding to the given frame. The sampling rate for thisrepresentation quantifies the number of amplitude samples, or frames,per second. Typical sampling rates for high-fidelity audio include 44.1kHz, 48 kHz, 24 kHz.

The smaller the sampling rate is, the more compact the representation ofthe audio is, because the continuous mechanical audio wave is given asparser discrete representation. For example, the size of, or number offrames in, the array of integer or floating point number amplitudes foraudio of a duration of one second is 44100, 48000 and 24000 for thethree sampling rates, respectively.

A lower sampling rate also implies greater noise in the representationas compared to the original audio. In particular, a sampling rate at agiven value is unable to resolve parts of an audio mechanical wave at afrequency higher than the sampling rate. Hence, sampling rates lowerthan 20 kHz, such as 5 kHz or 1 kHz, lead to that high-pitch notes orsounds are absent from the discrete representation 203.

As the audio is expected to be comprised of a plurality of waves ofdifferent amplitude, frequency and phase, a wave transform 101 isapplied to the discrete representation 203. The integer or floatingpoint array received from the pre-processing module 104 is used as inputto the transform, and a new representation is obtained in terms of afinite set of orthogonal basis functions and time-dependentmultiplicative factors. The multiplicative factors are stored in anarray as a set number of integer or floating point numbers.

Depending on the details of the wave transform, the multiplicativefactors can be complex numbers. Therefore, the array can in addition tothe real-value component of the multiplicative factors also containelements that define the imaginary component of the complex number. Insome embodiments, the integer or floating point magnitudes of thecomplex number is used in subsequent modules, rather than themultiplicative factors. Therefore, an array can be defined with elementsequal to the addition of the real-value element raised to the power oftwo and the imaginary element raised to the power of two.

The summation of the basis functions, each multiplied by thecorresponding factor, produces for any given time an approximativemathematical representation of the input amplitude wave 104. Withreasonable settings of the transform and a meaningful selection of basisfunctions, the approximative audio representation resembles the input toa high degree; details of the transform are given in a subsequentsection. The exact method of wave transformation can vary betweenembodiments, but the magnitude of the multiplicative factors, stored inan integer or floating point array as defined above, can vary with timeand be visualized as an audio spectrogram, for example.

One example of an audio spectrogram 2400 of a short section of music isshown in FIG. 24, where the frequency in Hz (y-axis) is shown at 24002,and the time is shown at the x-axis at 24004. The magnitude of theplurality of multiplicative factors at a given time represents theamplitude of a standard audio wave or waves, and hence the plurality ofmultiplicative factors is an exact or approximate decomposition of themixture of audio waves into a set of standard sounds. Based on themagnitude of the multiplicative factors an array of audio activations202 are computed and transmitted, where the details of their computationand array size are given in a later section.

A representation of this nature offers analytical advantages over thePCM representation, since the audio components of the audio mixture areapproximately or fully resolved. In some embodiments the sound transformmodule evaluates secondary summary metrics for the audio streamprocessed so far, such as, but not limited to an estimate of the BPM,which are transmitted as arrays as well.

Depending on the format of the representation of the physicalarrangement of lighting devices, the representation is converted in ageometry module 103 to a graph adjacency matrix, a distance matrixbetween lighting devices, or similar representation depending on theembodiment. A variety of geometrical data 205 can further be derived forthe physical assembly, details given in a section below. In someembodiments these calculations are performed only once during initialsetup, and the resultant arrays of integer or floating point data arestored in memory 311 in order to be retrieved during the processing ofthe audio 204.

In some embodiments the physical arrangement can change dynamically,either through an intentional rearrangement or through functionalfailure or damage to one or a plurality of individual lighting devices.In order to detect these changes and re-compute the geometrical data,the method is polling the individual devices for their status 401,including their geometrical data. If a change in status is discoveredbetween two consecutive points in time, the geometry module 103 istriggered and the data is updated in memory.

The audio activations 202 and the geometrical data 204 of the physicalassembly are input as integer or floating point arrays to the renderingmodule 102. The means of transmission can be within a shared memory on acommon device with a processor or similar circuitry used for theexecution of the different modules; the transmission can also be througha wireless or wired connection. Through a number of algorithms,described in a section below, a set of light activations 201 is derived.The light activations represent what color coordinate at what intensityevery single lighting device in the assembly 303 should adopt at thatgiven time point.

The color coordinate system can be RGB, HSL, CMYK or any othertransformation of the color space, by which the specified color can berepresented and stored in memory as an integer or floating point array,typically but not necessarily with three elements per array. A set ofarrays, which includes the light activations, are transmitted to amodule 111 that converts the specified color and intensity to a drivecurrent for each individually controllable light-emitting diode (LED) inthe plurality of lighting devices.

The drive current can be obtained through a standard pulse-widthmodulation (PWM) of an alternating current (AC) power source 302connected through wire to the physical assembly 303 or connected througha wireless transmission of electrical power. The power source 302 can bedirect current (DC) from a battery or photovoltaic solar panels. In thiscase the modulation in 111 can be done with a DC-to-DC converter, forexample. The mapping from color to drive current can be done through alookup table stored in non-volatile or non-transitory memory, calibratedduring the manufacturing of the individual lighting devices.

The lookup table is represented as an array of integer or floating pointarrays, where at least one element of the array is an array with colorcoordinates and at least one element of the array is an array of drivecurrents for one or a plurality of LED within the lighting devices. Incase the received array to 111 is not contained in the lookup table, aninterpolation between at least two nearby color coordinates present inthe lookup table is done. The lookup table can also include atemperature variable, since it is known that LEDs emit less light for agiven drive current as the temperature of the diode increases. Themapping can also be dynamically derived through a calibration sequencewith a secondary device recording the optical spectrum for a given drivecurrent setting, and transmitting the information back to the system.

Other methods of mapping color to current have been contemplated. Insome embodiments, the color to current conversion module 111 is executedon a microprocessor part of each lighting device in the physicalassembly. The transmission 403 of the light activations arrays is doneeither through a wireless connection, such as but not limited toBluetooth, Zigbee™ or Z-Wave™, or through a wired connection, such asbut not limited to Ethernet, PLC, or a standard or proprietary serialport or pin.

The embodiments described thus far process the audio as a real-time, ornear real-time, continuous stream of data. This implies the soundtransformation module 101 has no information about the sound yet tocome, only information on current and possibly past audio data. In thecase the audio data is a digital representation of a music tune, theentire audio stream is stored in a database 312, which can be remote andaccessed through an Internet connection, or stored on a local disk or ina digital memory.

In some embodiments this condition is used to perform a batch-processingof the entire digital audio data prior to its visualization, see FIG.23. The audio activations 215 are stored in memory 313 as arrays asdescribed above in order to retrieve these as a stream of integer orfloating point arrays 202 as the audio is played and the rendering isdone concurrently. Batch-processing enables other algorithms to beemployed in the sound transformation module 101, as described in asection below.

A variation to this embodiment involves computing and storing the lightactivations 201 in memory as arrays of integer or floating pointnumbers, and retrieve them as a stream along with playing the audio.This embodiment removes the ability to dynamically change thegeometrical properties of the physical assembly as the given music tuneis played.

In order to attain the desired co-variation of the perceived audio 211and the perceived light 212 to the human observer, the audio and lightstream must be concurrent or nearly concurrent. For the embodimentsdescribed so far this presents different challenges. In the embodimentin FIG. 21, which relies on a microphone or transducer 112 to receivethe audio as it is played, all processing and transmission of data upuntil the lighting devices 303 change their state must be less than somethreshold that will be perceived as an appreciable or disturbing lag tothe human observer.

The synchronization error has been studied for multimedia, such asvideo. Below 80 ms lag was undetected by the human observers in oneparticular study, with an increasing detection probability until a 160ms lag where the probability of detection is nearly 100%. It is notedthat this experiment involved detection of synchronization error in lipmovement in a video relative the associated audio.

The light wave produced from the physical assembly in the currentembodiments is expected to be of a lower resolution than a computerscreen, which suggests the 80 ms lag is a conservative value of anacceptable processing time. In the embodiment in FIG. 22 and FIG. 23,concurrency is in principle easy to attain in case it is the sameprocessing unit or similar electronic circuitry that is processing thestream of light activations 201 to the physical assembly 303 as isprocessing the stream of audio 213 and 214 to the audio source 301, suchas loud speakers or headphones.

The streaming mechanism would in these embodiments execute thetransmission of light activations and the transmission of audio data tothe audio source immediately following each other, or sufficiently closein the execution such that the synchronization error remains below theacceptable threshold. In other embodiments, it is not the same processorthat is handling the light activations and the audio data to be playedby the audio source.

This includes the case where the computer or smartphone that retrievesthe digital audio from a local or remote database, sends the data to aprocessing unit that runs the method described in FIG. 22 and FIG. 23,and to a third-party speaker system outside detailed programmaticcontrol by the current method.

As long as the processing time of the digital audio stream issufficiently quick in both the third-party speaker system and thecurrent method, no significant synchronization error may occur. If oneof the two independent audio processing algorithms is much slower thanthe other, the fastest of the two can programatically be delayed by aset amount.

Sound Transformation Module

The sound transformation module 101 computes a set of quantities todescribe key features of the audio at the given point in time. In someembodiments, the evaluations part of the sound transformation module aredone without any dependency of the particular physical lighting assembly303.

Furthermore, it is the sound pre-processing module 104 that handles thevariety of audio formats that can be input to the system, and convertsthem into the PCM representation. The sound transformation module cantherefore also be independent of the specific input format of audio.

The sound pre-processing module 104 uses published specifications ofstandard digital audio formats to convert from a variety of input formatto a consistent output format. Input formats include, but are notlimited to: WAV, MP3, MPEG, AIFF, AU, TTA, Opus,™ Vorbis™, Musepack™,AAC, ATRAC. The conversion implies that any file header is stripped andonly the audio data is kept. The output can be a raw headerless audioPCM representation at a specified sampling rate.

The output is hence stored as an array of integer or floating pointnumbers, with each element representing the audio amplitude at thecorresponding point in time. The initial conversion can imply no loss ofaudio fidelity compared to the input file. However, the soundpre-processing can in some embodiments also include a resampling of theaudio, specifically to reduce the sampling rate. Published methods andimplementations in the field of signal processing can be employed forthis task.

Two example methods can be used in different embodiments: simpledownsampling, which only keeps a subset of the discretized amplitudes ofthe array; decimation, which keeps a subset of the discretizedamplitudes of the array after they have been transformed or filtered tomitigate temporal aliasing distortion. A reduced sampling rate implies aloss of audio fidelity. At this stage in the processing, the audiosignal is not meant to be converted to a mechanical wave to interactwith the human hearing, rather to act as input to a visualization of theaudio.

Hence, the conventions with respect to sampling rate for audio storageand retrieval do not necessarily translate. Through calibrations, lowervalues of the sampling rate can be used for certain audio, with valuessuch as 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 5 kHz, 10 kHz. The lower sampling rates imply thathigh frequency sounds are removed from the representation. In particularfor, but not limited to, music that contains a defined beat, this lossof data on variations at high audio frequencies is not consequential toa visually meaningful representation of the audio as it is perceived bythe human observer.

Some digital audio data encodes stereo sound. In this case each timepoint is represented by two or more amplitude values in the integer orfloating point arrays described above. Stereophonic sound is a means tocreate a perception of directionality of the audio as it interacts withthe human hearing. In some embodiments the sound pre-processor convertsany stereo input into a mono output. This is done through the summationand uniform scaling of the two or more integer or floating point numbersrepresenting the signal per point in time. In other embodiments the twoor more audio streams are processed independently and two arrays of thePCM representations of audio are transmitted to the sound transformationmodule.

In embodiments where the audio input is obtained through a microphone ortransducer that interacts with the mechanical audio wave, the transducercontains an analog to digital conversion. Any microphone can be usedthat captures the vibrations of a mechanical audio wave of at leastfrequencies and amplitudes encompassing a meaningful range of humanhearing, such as 20 Hz to 20 kHz, or 250 Hz to 8 kHz, and above −10 dBfor at least frequencies around 4 kHz, though a higher lower bound isacceptable for frequencies higher or lower than this; a human audiogramprovides detailed ranges of audible sound.

Typically the membrane of the microphone moves along, or resonates with,the varying pressure of the mechanical wave, and the motion of themembrane is turned into a varying electrical current and voltage througha generating element attached to the membrane. The electrical variationsare converted into a digital and discrete representation of theamplitude variations at a set sampling rate. An array of integer orfloating point numbers are thus obtained. Identical considerations aboutthe selection of sampling rate as described above for the digital audioformat applies in embodiments that uses a microphone.

There are many wave transforms available, with applications in physicsand signal processing among others. They decompose a continuous ordiscrete function of one or higher dimension into a finite or infinitelinear combination of wave basis functions. The types of basisfunctions, and the mathematical method to derive the scalars to eachbasis function in the linear combination is different between methods.For the transformation of the discrete PCM representation of the audioamplitudes, the signal is discrete and one-dimensional along thetime-axis. The discrete-time Fourier transform (DTFT) decomposes asequence of amplitude values, x[n], said to exist in the time-domain, asobtained from the sound pre-processor into a set of complex-valuedcoefficients in the frequency domain.

${X(\omega)} = {\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\;{{x\lbrack n\rbrack} \cdot {\exp\left( {{- {in}}\;\omega} \right)}}}$

Through an inverse transform, the signal can be obtained again. Thesignal constructed through the inverse transform can be an approximaterepresentation in case the sequence of coefficients, X, is truncated, orin other words that a reduced number of set frequencies, ω, are used asthe above equation is evaluated.

The finite set of frequencies can be conceptualized as centers of a setof frequency windows. Since the audio signal changes with time, so willthe coefficients. A variation of the DTFT that addresses this is theshort-time Fourier transform (STFT).

${X\left( {\omega,m} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{n = {- \infty}}^{\infty}\;{{x\lbrack n\rbrack} \cdot {W\left\lbrack {n - m} \right\rbrack} \cdot {\exp\left( {{- {in}}\;\omega} \right)}}}$

The variable m is a sequence identifier of the discretized timevariable, and W is a window function, that assumes its maximum value atzero, and approaches zero symmetrically as the argument to the functionincreases or decreases. The exact functional form can be calibrated, andcommon types are a rectangular function, triangular function, cosinefunction, Welch function, Gaussian function, Hann function. The STFTsummarizes the signal in the frequency domain at the given point intime, m, as a property of the signal in the time-domain in theneighborhood of m, rather than the entire time range.

The finite set of times for which coefficients exist can beconceptualized as a set of time windows. The sampling rate of thesignal, x, defines the highest resolution of time windows. However, thetransform can be configured such that it further reduces the resolution,and hence makes the number of time windows less than the number offrames in the input audio signal.

The execution of arithmetic and logical operations on a microprocessoror central processing unit, can be done as follows in order to performthe wave transforms as mathematically defined above: (1) A segment ofconsecutive elements from the array of integers of floating pointnumbers transmitted from the pre-processing module is retrieved andstored in memory. (2) Each element in this segment is multiplied by afloating point number defined by the window function; the floating pointnumber can be unity. (3) Each element in the array thus obtained ismultiplied by a set of complex numbers defined by the basis wave, wherethe wave is defined as a multiple of a frequency ω; the values thusobtained are summed into a single complex number, which is stored inmemory as an element of an array. (4) Another set of complex numbers aredefined by another frequency, and the array defined above is appendedwith a number obtained by repeating the third step. (5) The previousstep is repeated for a set number of distinct frequencies, and an arrayof complex numbers is obtained where the number of elements is equal tothe set number of distinct frequencies, or frequency windows.

The coefficients of the wave transform are formally complex numbers withone real and one imaginary component. In the current application, themagnitude of each basis function is of interest, while the phase is not.The absolute value, or mode or magnitude, of the complex coefficient isa real number and it can be shown to be equal to the desired magnitude.The varying magnitude of the coefficients over time and frequency can bevisualized with a spectrogram, which is a form of heatmap, where element(x,y) is shaded proportionally to |X(x,y)|². The magnitudes are storedas an array of integer or floating point numbers, with number ofelements equal to the set number of distinct frequencies or frequencynumbers. An example of a spectrogram as obtained from a short section ofmusic by the music artist Justin Bieber is given in FIG. 24.

Sections of rhythmic beats, harmonies or of a reduced or increased totalaudio intensity are evident in this visualization. Areas of a highlysaturated shading represent a large element at the corresponding timeand frequency in the array of magnitudes, while areas of no or weaksaturation represent an element equal to zero or nearly zero at thecorresponding time and frequency in the array of magnitudes.

Another wave transform of interest is the constant-Q transform. It isrelated to the STFT, but specifies a sequence of frequency windows thatare of changing width and separation. Specifically, the size of thefrequency windows grows as the frequency increases. This complicates thepractical evaluation of the transform. It also provides a reducedresolution at higher frequencies.

As described above, this fits the resolution of human hearing withrespect to frequency. Other wave transforms can be contemplated as longas they represent a time-varying amplitude signal as a finite set oftime-varying coefficients to a set of basis functions in the frequencydomain. Other transforms include, but are not limited to, Laplacetransform, Mellin transform, Z-transform and cosine transform.

In some embodiments the absolute value of the amplitudes is itself notof interest, rather it is the relative value of the magnitude comparedto a reference. A transformation to reflect this is an amplitudenormalization.Y (ω,m)=|X(ω,m)|² /N(ω,m)

The choice of reference can be: (1) A constant calibrated once andapplied across all frequency and time windows, in other words N(ω,m)=N.(2) Several constants calibrated once and applied across differentfrequency windows, but all time windows, in other words N(ω,m)=N(ω). (3)A variable changing with time according to some function, but applieduniformly across all frequency windows, in other words

N(ω,m)=N(m). (4) Several variables changing with time according to somefunction, and applied across different frequency windows. The secondnormalization approach is suitable to scale amplitudes to bettercorrespond to human perception of sound intensity.

As described above, human hearing is more sensitive to amplitudes atcertain frequencies, for example 4 kHz, than at the outer limits ofhearing, for example 100 Hz and 10 kHz. Therefore a scaling thatincreases the numeric representation of audio in frequency windows nearfrequencies of excellent human hearing, relative the numericrepresentation of audio in frequency windows near frequencies of poorhuman hearing, is a step towards representing the audio closer to how itis perceived, rather than with respect to its physical attributes. Thethird and fourth normalizations are helpful when absolute music or audiovolume differences are not meaningful to visualize. For example, for anembodiment that receives audio through a microphone, a sudden increasein volume can increase the amplitudes uniformly.

Since there is a practical upper bound for how intensely to displaylight, or what wavelength of light to use in a visualization, a uniformincrease of amplitudes can end up masking any variations in the lightvisualization. The function that control the time dependency of thenormalization can be an aggregate value or summary statistic of theamplitudes observed so far. In some embodiments the summary statistic isthe maximum non-normalized amplitude found up to a given point in time,either across all frequency windows, or for each frequency window byitself. In some embodiments the summary statistic is the maximum value,as above, multiplied by a decay function. The decay has the effect thatthe normalization function decreases with time, unless a new highamplitude value is encountered again.

The latter construction controls for the possibility of a uniformdecrease in amplitudes, as a lowering of music volume would generate. Inembodiments where the audio is received as a digital audio file andbatch-processed, the normalization can be computed with knowledge of theentire track. Functional forms similar or identical to the ones listedabove are contemplated, however where parameter values are chosen withfull knowledge of what audio variations, such as the maximum amplitudes,are present in the audio.

The normalized amplitudes Y(ω,m) at a given point in time m are in thean embodiment referred to as the audio activations 202, and aretransmitted to the rendering module. They are represented as an array ofinteger or floating point numbers, where the size of the array at agiven point in time, m, is equal to the set number of frequency windows.As time progresses, the element values are either updated in memory toreflect the change to the input audio, the normalization or both. Thearray can also be appended to a larger array of arrays, which can be thecase for a batch-processing data flow.

In embodiments where audio is received via a microphone, there may benoise in the signal from ambient sounds, such as engine noise,conversations, or other human vocalizations. Random noise can in part beremoved by discarding high frequency components of the audio signal.

This is a simple filter to apply in embodiments of the current method,since the Fourier transform decomposes the input signal into windows ofdifferent frequencies. For audio and music with its most distinctivefeatures at lower frequencies, such as a defined drum beat, the loss ofhigher frequency data is not a problem to a meaningful visualization.For audio and music for which this is not true, such as an opera sopranoaria, a filter that fully discards high frequency data is detrimental toa visualization. More advanced methods for noise removal can involve asecondary microphone, which is placed in the space, such that itpredominantly receives the ambient noise, rather than the music.

The noise audio is then subtracted from the signal obtained from theprimary microphone, either in its raw amplitude variationrepresentation, or following the wave transform.

As described above, the perception of sound and music can be describedin units other than ordered categories of frequencies or pitches. Theaudio activations as defined above are an ordered set of categories inthis regard. For music that contains a distinctive chord progression,vocal harmonies or varied but recurring percussion, the units that bestrepresents how the music is perceived can involve a plurality ofwell-separated and distinct bands of audio frequencies. The set of basisfunctions in the wave transform, such as the exp(−inω) functions in theFourier transform, can be combined linearly to form a new basis torepresent the audio in; this is akin to how a single vector can berepresented differently in case the Cartesian coordinate system isrotated.

One way to derive a new linear combination of the basis functions, ordifferently put, a rotation of the functional coordinate system, isthrough an analysis of the principal components of the covariance of thedifferent amplitudes in the original basis. This is only possible inembodiments that include a complete batch-processing of the audio, or atleast a batch-processing of a significant segment of the audio. Atypical procedure to obtain the rotation begins with the evaluation ofthe set of amplitudes as described above, X(ω, m), for a set number offrequency windows, ω∈{ω₁, ω₂, . . . , ω_(N)}, and time windows, m∈{m₁,m₂, . . . , m_(k)}. The covariance of the amplitudes in the frequencywindows over time is computed:

${C\left( {\omega_{i},\omega_{j}} \right)} = {\frac{1}{K}{\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{K}\;{\left\lbrack {{X\left( {\omega_{i},m_{k}} \right)} - {{avg}_{T}\left( {X\left( \omega_{i} \right)} \right)}} \right\rbrack \cdot \left\lbrack {{X\left( {\omega_{j},m_{k}} \right)} - {{avg}_{T}\left( {X\left( \omega_{j} \right)} \right)}} \right\rbrack}}}$

The function avg₁ evaluates the average amplitude over the entire rangeof time for a given frequency window.

For example, if two frequency windows contain amplitudes that more oftenthan not increase and decrease in unison, the covariance value will begreater than zero. For example, if two frequency windows containamplitudes that are varying completely at random relative each other,the covariance value will not be significantly different from zero. Theprincipal components of the covariance are orthogonal linearcombinations of the frequency windows, such that the set of linearcombinations contains usually a few elements along which adisproportionate amount of the audio variation take place in the musicor audio.

In other words, dominant sound themes in the analyzed music tune orsegment of audio, that include a plurality of specific frequencies areexpected to be represented predominantly as variations along a singleprincipal component. The practical evaluation of the principalcomponents can be done by first representing C(ω_(i), ω_(j)) as amatrix, or an array of arrays of integer or floating point numbers. Theequation above defines how each element of the matrix is computed byprocessing the multiplicative factors stored in arrays as defined inprevious paragraphs.

This includes in particular the computation of deviation of an arrayelement for a given frequency window from its average value over alltime windows. Methods in numerical matrix algebra, implemented as afinite set of operations on the arrays of integer or floating pointnumbers, can be used to ascertain the eigenvectors to the matrix,conventionally sorted by their corresponding eigenvalue. Once theeigenvectors are obtained, the amplitudes X(ω,m) are linearlytransformed and a new set is obtained, X(π,m), where instead offrequency windows, the values are split over principal windows. Thenumber of principal windows can be identical to the number of frequencywindows. The number of principal windows can be smaller than the numberof frequency windows, where principal windows with associatedeigenvalues less than some threshold are discarded. The principal windowamplitudes can be normalized as described above and turned into audioactivations passed to the rendering module.

Arrays of integers or floating point numbers are thus obtained, whereeach element represents the activation of the corresponding principalsound at the given point in time. Other methods to derive atransformation to an informative set of basis functions can becontemplated.

The practical evaluation of the wave transforms must be quick whenexecuted as a set of logical and arithmetic commands on a centralprocessing unit, microprocessor or other electronic circuitry. If thiscondition fails, the synchronization error will exceed acceptablethresholds. A way to practically compute a Fourier transform is throughthe Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) implementation.

The summations involved in computing the coefficients in the frequencydomain, as defined in a previous paragraph, imply a quadratic scaling ofthe computational effort as the size of the problem increases. In otherwords, as the number of elements increases in the integer or floatingpoint number arrays that describe the audio amplitudes and theamplitudes per frequency windows, as defined above, the number ofoperations to execute on the central processing unit, microprocessor orother electronic circuitry increases quadratically. A variety of FFTmethods, the Cooley-Tukey being the most common, have been formulatedand published, which exhibit a no worse than N·log N scaling of thecomputational effort as the size of the input arrays increases.

Most FFT methods are exact in the sense that they do not involve anyarithmetic approximation to the transformation equations. In afinite-precision implementation, numeric errors accumulate as the numberof operations on the integer or floating point array elements increases.However, benchmark studies have concluded that FFT, and Cooley-Tukey inparticular, are “remarkably stable” to this type of error as well. Insome embodiments the FFT algorithm is therefore used to evaluate thecoefficients rather than the direct numerical evaluation of theequations as defined by the array element algebra described in aprevious paragraph. The normalization, and linear transformations andtheir implementations are otherwise the same as above.

The audio activations offers a compressed representation of a possiblycomplex audio stream. In some embodiments it is useful to derive summarystatistics of the audio, which numerically represents even coarserfeatures of the audio. A common metric in music is beats-per-minute(BPM). In embodiments that rely on batch-processing of an entire digitalaudio file, advanced and accurate methods that discover onset of audioand its periodicity over the entire tune can be implemented in order toderive the BPM. In embodiments that process audio in real-time, themethod can only employ shorter segments of past or current amplitudedata. A beat is characterized by its high relative intensity and that itspans a short amount of time.

A point in time that therefore meets the following two criteria can insome embodiments be classified as containing a beat: (1) The totalamount of audio energy, as defined by a summation of all amplitudes, orthe magnitude of the raw audio wave, exceeds the average energy in thetemporal neighborhood of the given point in time by some set threshold;(2) The point is a peak in terms of energy, as determined by a peakdetection method. The peak detection can be implemented as nestedconditions with respect to the positive difference between the energy ofthe given point and the energy of points in the immediate neighborhoodof said point. The separation between consecutive beats is evaluated,and accumulated as the audio is processed.

A summary static of the accumulated beat separations is evaluated, suchas the mode or the median. From the summary separation, a BPM isestimated. This method can sometimes fail to identify a beat if manyinstruments are active at that section of audio. The accuracy canincrease by limiting the above computations to lower frequency windows,as rhythmic beats tend to be at lower frequencies relative to otherinstruments. The BPM is represented as an integer or floating pointvalue, which is transmitted along with the audio activations to therendering module.

Another example coarse characterization of music is its genre, such aspop, rock, hip-hop, grunge, grindcore, deep house. In an embodiment thatrelies on audio from a remote or local database 312, the genre can becoded as metadata to the digital file. If so, this information can beretrieved and passed directly to the rendering module.

In case this metadata is absent or not retrieved, it can be predictedfrom the output of the transforms done in the sound transformationmodule, or from the PCM representation of the audio. There are methodsof varying accuracy and precision.

In some embodiments an audio-based classification method is used and thepredicted genre class, defined as a string or integer index, istransmitted to the rendering module as well.

Geometry and Physical Assembly

The physical light assembly 303 is comprised of one or a plurality ofindividually addressable lighting devices. The term addressable impliesthat to each lighting device there is a unique identifier associated,and can be implemented as an integer value, for example. The lightingdevices are assumed to be tunable at least with respect to theirluminous flux, and in some embodiments with respect to their emittedspectrum of light. This means one or a plurality of the lighting devicescan emit different colors, not necessarily every possible color in thevisible spectrum, though.

The lighting devices can be of a variety of form factors and generate alight distribution of different angular distributions. This includes butis not limited to devices such as, omnidirectional light bulbs,parabolic reflector lamps with a directional light distribution commonlydescribed in terms of a beam angle, linear light tubes either bythemselves or installed in a partially reflective troffer, decorativelight bulbs such as candelabra lamps that produce a mostlyomnidirectional light, custom luminaires in planar or curved shapes, orin shapes and constructions that transforms the distribution of thelight emission into a highly varied pattern. The source of the light canbe incandescent, halogen, fluorescent or from a light-emitting diode(LED). Some embodiments use the latter due to the relative ease in whichthe emitted spectrum can be tuned.

In some embodiments the assembly is a union of individually addressablepanels of LED lighting units, where each panel is of a polygonal shapeand joined to neighboring panels through a wired connection, see 303 inillustration 2500 of FIG. 25, showing an example connection andassociated determination of geometry (e.g., steps 25002, 25004, 25006).The wired connection includes at least data transmission through anEthernet connection, PLC or a serial port or pin. The connection canalso transmit electrical power and provide mechanical support. In thisembodiment each lighting panel has a unique identity and can obtain theidentity of the panels connected to it. It is hence possible for ageometry module 103 to query a given light assembly 303 for itsconnectivity graph 1031. The graph can be mathematically represented asan adjacency matrix, an adjacency list or any equivalent exhaustiverepresentation of a non-directional graph.

In a more specific embodiment, the panels are mechanically andelectrically connected as described in an earlier section either by arigid block inserted from one panel to the other by an attractivemagnetic force, or by a secondary piece of printed circuit board, whichbridges the two or more panels. The wired connection is thereforecomprised of a bidirectional pin formed by a conductive connectionbetween the rigid block of the one panel and the correspondingindentation of the other panel, or by conductive traces part of thebridging piece of printed circuit board. The connectivity graph thusobtained is either identical to or trivially derived from the layoutdetection method as defined earlier. The light is emitted from theappreciably flat panel into the environment through the scattering ofthe light injected into the panel as the light encounters microscopicparticles or surface imperfections that are part of the panel.

In a computer memory, the adjacency matrix and adjacency list are storedas an array or an array of arrays of integer values, where the valueseither represent a Boolean variable that denotes presence of absence ofconnection between devices, or pairings of lighting device identifiersthat are connected. In this embodiment every lighting device part of theassembly is assumed to be connected to at least one other lightingdevice; in other words, degree at least one.

As per these examples, the graph is connected. The maximum degree isdetermined by the physical structure of each lighting device. In caseeach lighting device is in the form of a triangle with a singleconnector per side, the maximum degree is three; in case each lightingdevice is in the form of a square with a single connector per side, themaximum degree is four. The geodesic distance between any two nodes inthe graph, that is the number of vertices on the shortest path betweenthe two nodes, can be computed and put in the form of a distance matrix1032.

From a graph representation, two-dimensional coordinates can be derivedthrough standard trigonometry. The coordinates will thus be defined in alocal frame of the assembly. The coordinates can be joined into acoordinate dictionary, with each entry keyed on the unique identifier ofthe lighting devices. In a computer memory, the coordinate dictionary isstored as an array of arrays where at least one value of the arrayenables a matching of an array to a particular lighting device, definedby its unique identifier, and the other values in the array are integeror floating point numbers that define a Cartesian coordinate in thelocal frame of the assembly.

In some embodiments the assembly is a union of lamps or luminaires notdirectly joined through a wired connection. They can instead bewirelessly connected to each other in a mesh network, or to a centralcontrol hub in a star network, where the wireless communication protocolcan be, but not limited to, Bluetooth™, Zigbee™ and W-Fi. The wirelessconnection can enable the determination of distance or proximity betweenindividual lighting devices.

Instead of a graph adjacency matrix, a matrix with elements that denotesproximity in a Euclidean sense is obtained, or a distance matrix.Through an agglomerative clustering, a connectivity graph can be derivedthat defines in a consistent sense if two lighting devices areneighbors. A coordinate dictionary, as defined above in terms of anarray of integer or floating point arrays, can also be obtained fromthis data. It should be noted that the accuracy of the geometricalproperties derived this way can be lower than for the embodiment thatuses wired data connections.

This can be due to imprecisions in translating a network node-to-nodeconnection strength or transmission speed to distance, which can derivefrom physical obstacles that make said connection strength ortransmission speed lower than a the spatial separation alone wouldcreate. For most applications described in the following sections, thisreduced accuracy is expected to still allow a meaningful visualization,although some inconsistencies cannot be ruled out for every embodiment.

It is also contemplated that the coordinate dictionary is manually inputto the method through a touch screen interface or keyboard input. Theuser can provide the integer or floating point numbers comprising thearray of the coordinate dictionary by manually enumerating them on akeyboard connected to a memory, or by using interactions via a touchscreen and an emulation of the physical light assembly on said screen todefine relative coordinates.

This process requires a greater manual effort by the person installingthe physical light assembly, and precludes dynamic changes of theassembly after initial setup. Also in this case the alternativegeometric representations, such as the connectivity graph and distancematrix, can be evaluated.

The geometrical data obtained from either of the methods describedabove, from either of the light sources above, is used to construct aplurality of geometry metadata 205, which subsequently are stored inmemory for retrieval 204 by the rendering module 102 in order tospatially map audio activations in a varied, meaningful or artisticmanner to the physical light assembly. Specific geometry metadata andmethods to derive such data are described in the following sections. Itis understood that the enumeration is not exhaustive and other types ofgeometry metadata can be contemplated.

The center of geometry of the physical light assembly can be evaluatedfrom the coordinate dictionary through an arithmetic average of thecoordinates, C_(k) ^(l):

$c_{k}^{CG} = {\frac{1}{M}{\sum\limits_{l = 1}^{M}\; c_{k}^{l}}}$

For a planar assembly the coordinates are two-dimensional; for anon-planar physical assembly the coordinates are three-dimensional. Thecoordinates of the lighting devices are represented in memory as anarray of integer or floating point number arrays, as defined above, andthe center of geometry is evaluated through arithmetic additions, onefor each geometric axis, across all lighting devices of the coordinatearray elements, followed by division of the total number of elements inthe addition.

After these operations are carried out on a processor, an array ofinteger or floating point numbers is obtained containing the coordinatesfor the center of geometry. The lighting device with coordinates closestto the center of geometry is assigned as the center device. The otherdevices in the assembly can be assigned an index based on theirseparation from the center. In some embodiments this index is assignedby determining the number of edges on the shortest path from the centerdevice to the given device, or the geodesic distance.

There are processing operations to evaluate the shortest path betweentwo nodes in a graph through a set of logical and arithmetic operationson the array representation of the graph connectivity that can becarried out on a processor; these algorithms include, but are notlimited to, Dijkstra's method. In some embodiments the graph of lightingdevices is relatively small (less than thousand nodes) and sparse, whichimplies finding the shortest path requires a relatively small number oflogical and arithmetic operations. Consequently a relatively smallamount of time is required to evaluate these paths in the connectivitygraph on typical processing components and electronic circuitryavailable

The indices can be arranged in a dictionary where the key is the numberof edges from the center device, where an index zero refers to thecenter device itself, and the value associated with each key is an arrayof lighting device identifiers. In some embodiments, the dictionary isstored in memory as an array of arrays, in which at least one elementcan be matched against an integer or floating point value that denotesthe distance relative the center device, and to that element an array ofinteger or floating point numbers is associated, where each element ofthe array can be matched with the set of unique lighting deviceidentifiers. The dictionary is referred to as the center-out dictionary1033. A variation to this method is to define the center device as thegraph center or Jordan center. The graph center is defined as the node,for which the maximum shortest path to all other nodes is the smallest.All other computations remain the same.

The physical assembly can be approximated as being of an ellipsoid shape(if it is three-dimensional) or ellipse shape (if it istwo-dimensional). The method to determine the shape of the ellipsoid orellipse proceeds by evaluating the covariance of the three or twocoordinate elements over the M lighting devices.

${C\left( {c_{k},c_{l}} \right)} = {\frac{1}{M}{\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{M}\;{\left\lbrack {c_{k}^{n} - {{avg}\;\left( c_{k} \right)}} \right\rbrack \cdot \left\lbrack {c_{l}^{n} - {{avg}\left( c_{l} \right)}} \right\rbrack}}}$

For the case of three-dimensional coordinates this produces a 3-by-3matrix, and for the case of two-dimensional coordinates this produces a2-by-2 matrix. The matrix is evaluated through a finite set ofarithmetic and logical operations applied to the arrays in memory thatrepresent the coordinate matrix, across all devices for each of the twoor three spatial dimensions, all executed on a processor or similarelectronic circuitry.

The eigenvectors to the matrix can be shown to be the axes of theellipsoid or ellipse, where the eigenvector associated with the greatesteigenvalue is the major axis, or in other words, the vector that definesthe spatially most extended line through the physical light assembly.The eigenvalue problem is solved numerically by method operationsexecuted on a processor. Two or three arrays of integer or floatingpoint numbers are thus obtained comprised of two or three elements,respectively, and to each vector there is an integer or floating pointnumber associated, which represents the eigenvalue. Each lighting devicecoordinate is projected onto the major axis of the ellipsoid or ellipse.

The array of lighting device identifiers are sorted by the sign andvalue of the corresponding projected coordinate. The sorted array oflighting device identifiers can be understood as the spatial arrangementof the devices from one outer edge to the other outer edge of thephysical assembly when viewed as a collective of lighting devices. Thedevice with the greatest negative value is the first element in the listand named as the long-axis root device. In a manner identical to what isdescribed above, every other device can be assigned an index based onthe number of edges in the shortest path to the long-axis root device inthe connectivity graph.

The dictionary thus obtained is referred to as the long-axis dictionary1034. In some embodiments, the dictionary is stored in memory as anarray of arrays, in which at least one element can be matched against aninteger or floating point distance relative the long-axis root device,and to that element an array of integer or floating point numbers isassociated, which can be matched with the set of unique lighting deviceidentifiers.

A variation of the long-axis dictionary can be obtained by furthersplitting the devices along the eigenvector with second greatesteigenvalue. The coordinates are projected on the second eigenvector aswell as the first eigenvector. These values are grouped in a set numberof groups that cluster as distinctly as possible around some values. Forexample, if the projected coordinates on the second eigenvector clustertightly around either of three values, the devices can be separated intothree appreciably parallel lanes along the long axis. Ideally the numberof devices in each of the three clusters should be similar, otherwisethe lanes will be different in length.

However, if this condition holds, a dictionary can be constructed keyedon two indices: the lane identifier and the number of edges in theshortest path to the long-axis root device of that same lane. Thedictionary thus obtained is referred to as the long-axis lanedictionary. In some embodiments, the dictionary is stored in memory asan array of arrays, in which at least one element can be matched againsta unique group index, and at least one other element can be matchedagainst an integer or floating point distance relative the long-axisroot device in the set of devices associated with the given group index,and with the union of the two types of matching elements there is anarray of integer or floating point numbers associated that can bematched with the set of unique lighting device identifiers.

The physical assembly can be comprised of apparent clusters ofindividual devices. For example, the devices can be spatially organizedsuch that they visually approximate the shape of a dumbbell, that is twolarge groups of devices with only a small and spatially narrow assemblyof devices between the two groups. For example, the devices can bespatially organized such that they form concentric rings of anincreasing diameter.

For example, the devices can be organized such that they form anoctopus-like shape, that is a center of a high number of clustereddevices with a number of devices forming long but narrow offshoots fromthe center. Other spatial arrangements can be contemplated where to ahuman observer the individual devices form a larger structure that inturn can be comprised of loosely connected sub-structures or clusters;the human visual perception has been shown to be predisposed to discoverpatterns and shapes in collective assemblies of visually distinctcomponents.

Based on either the coordinate dictionary or the graph connectivity, avariety of clustering algorithms can be used in order to group thedevices such that their assignment to a group corresponds to whatappears as an intuitive spatial grouping to a human observer. Clusteringmethods and their implementations for execution on a processor orsimilar electronic circuitry include, but are not limited to, k-meansclustering, agglomerative clustering, spectral clustering, Wardclustering, DBSCAN clustering.

Clustering methods can require parameters to control how they performthe grouping, and some methods are less suitable to discover clusters ofnon-spherical shapes, or clusters that are only moderately separated.The choice of method require testing or another means of automatic ormanual configuration. Since the lighting devices are represented by atmost a three-dimensional coordinate, and that the number of devices isin typical application small (less than one thousand), the computationaleffort is relatively small to execute the clustering algorithms on aprocessor with access to a memory in which arrays of integer or floatingpoint numbers representing the device coordinates are available.

Once a grouping has been obtained, any of the previous methods to assignan ordering of the devices within the groups can be done, such as theindex of separation from the center device in that group, or the indexof separation from the long-axis root device in that group. In someembodiments, the dictionary thus obtained is stored in memory as anarray of arrays, in which at least one element can be matched against aunique group index defined by a clustering method, and at least oneother element can be matched against an integer or floating pointdistance relative some root device in the set of devices associated withthe given group index, and to the union of the two matching elementsthere is an array of integer or floating point numbers associated thatcan be matched with the set of unique lighting device identifiers.

In some applications the user has spatially arranged the individuallighting device in a very specific manner to resemble some figure orshape of cultural or personal significance, and where the user desiresto specifically define a root or center device as the origin of asorting order for the other devices. The user may also desire tomanually group devices to resemble specific shapes or figures whenilluminated. A grouping that assumes the shape of a heart symbol whenilluminated can be contemplated, where the entire physical arrangementotherwise lacks such a shape.

In some embodiments the user can define such groupings or root devicesthrough a touch-screen interface. The coordinate dictionary, as obtainedfrom the physical light assembly as described above, enables a graphicalemulation or rendition of the physical assembly on a screen.

The user can interact with said emulation or rendition, through touch orvoice commands for example, and thus define groups of customarrangements. It increases the effort required by the user uponinstallation, but enables an arrangement as specific as desired. In someembodiments the system can access relative coordinates to culturallysignificant shapes from an external or local database.

A matching search can be run against the actual coordinates of thephysical light assembly and if a match is found within some threshold,metadata on nodes of significance can be accessed and used to determinegroupings and root or central devices. The representation in memory interms of integer or floating point arrays of the manually defined groupscan be identical in structure to the previous representation thatemploys clustering algorithms to derive the groups of lighting devices.

For completeness, some embodiments assign group or order or root deviceor other geometric variable or a plurality thereof randomly. This is forcases where the exact spatial arrangement is considered irrelevant tothe desired visualization, or where the random nature of the varyinglight is a desired feature. The assignment can furthermore change withtime in a deterministic or random manner, which leads to additionaldynamic qualities to the visualization.

The specific embodiments described above sort or group the individualdevices in the physical light assembly on basis of some geometricproperty of the entire assembly. Other methods of sorting and groupingcan be contemplated. The common quality is that the sorting or groupingenables a mapping of audio to light in the rendering module that isspatially aware of where each device exists in a larger assembly, andthus the visualization can be played out on a larger visual unit and informs aware of meaningful spatial groupings as perceived by the humanobserver, rather than on only a single device of fixed structure anddimensions.

Illustrative embodiments of complete visualizations are provided herein.In some embodiments the mathematical representation is a dictionarykeyed on two indices, group and order, with each key associated with alist of device identifiers, where a list can contain one or a pluralityof elements, and the group and order indices can take one or a pluralityof values.

The dictionary in this general form is referred to as geometry metadata205. It is stored in a digital memory, or first transmitted to aseparate device and there stored to a memory 311 for subsequentretrieval by the rendering module 102. In some embodiments, thedictionary is transmitted and stored as an array of integer or floatingpoint arrays, in which at least one element can be matched against aunique group index, and at least one other element can be matchedagainst an integer or floating point order within a group, and to theunion of the two matching elements there is an array of integer orfloating point numbers associated that can be matched with the set ofunique lighting device identifiers.

In some embodiments the geometry module 103 repeatedly polls 401 thephysical light assembly 303 for changes.

When a change to the graph connectivity or coordinate dictionary isdetected, either because the user intentionally removed a device duringthe visualization of audio, or because the device malfunctioned due toelectrical or mechanical failure, the geometry module can trigger theevent of computing the geometry metadata 205 anew, update itsrepresentation in memory, such that the geometry metadata 204 accessedby the rendering module 102 correctly reflects the physical arrangementthat is at that time available for control.

The duration between polling events can be configured to balanceavailable computational resources and the urgency of mapping light tothe current arrangement. Values such as 10 times per second, 4 times persecond, 1 time per second, 12 times per minute have been contemplated.

Rendering Module

The rendering module 102 receives for any given point in time the audioactivations 202 from the sound transformation module 101 and has accessto the geometry metadata constructed by the geometry module 103 thatdescribes some or all geometrical relations of the physical lightassembly 303. The rendering module computes a set of light activations201, which after a conversion to electrical control commands 111 in amanner as described above, lead to a specific lighting output from thephysical light assembly 303. The light activations can be mathematicallyrepresented as a dictionary that associate each unique lighting deviceidentifier to a color coordinate and intensity; other mathematicalrepresentations can be contemplated. The rendering module 102 includesor controls physical computer hardware to generate discernable effectsand lighting visualizations using the light activations 201, forexample.

The dictionary is stored in memory as an array of arrays of integer orfloating point numbers, where at least one element can be matched to aunique identifier of a lighting device, and to each such element thereis associated an array of integer or floating point numbers that fullydefine an optical spectrum output of a lighting device once processed bythe conversion module 111. Because the rendering module has informationon both the current sound and the geometry of light sources, more variedvisualizations are possible. The geometrical metadata enables acontextually aware creation of light output. In other words, a givensegment of music, or audio in general, can be made to correspond to aspecific set of optical outputs from a specific set of relative spatiallocations or contexts.

A physical light assembly that is comprised of a plurality of lightingdevices that are located in unique positions in space, has additionaldegrees of freedom to employ in order to display the audiovisualization. The additional degrees of freedom furthermore imply thatthe total number of configurations the light wave 212 can assume is veryhigh.

Because of the spatial contextual awareness, transitions betweenconfiguration as time evolves can include geometrical transformations ofthe light sources, which generate a meaningful visualization of audio oraudio transitions to the human observer, where the perception ofabstract concepts of sound and vision such as shape, speed, mood,intensity, similarity among others can be considered. Hence, highlytailored visualizations of audio, customized to specific, collective orindividual needs and preferences can be made.

As described herein, the human perception of sound and light is complex,without a universal optimum that can be applied across cultures, agegroups, or individuals without some or significant loss of fidelity.Non-limiting examples of rendering module algorithms are described next.

Without loss of generality, the audio activations are assumed to be atany given point in time an array containing elements corresponding to Nfrequency windows, obtained by any of the methods described in theprevious section. Without loss of generality, the physical lightassembly is assumed to be comprised of M individually addressablelighting devices.

For the description below the light output from any given lightingdevice is represented as three values in the range 0 to 255, where therelative values define a point in the RGB color space, and the magnitudeof the three values defines the intensity; as described above, othercolor spaces can be used. Without loss of generality, the audioactivations are assumed to be updated at a rate of F times per second,and the light activations at a rate of G times per second.

In one embodiment of the rendering algorithm, the computation startswith the average audio intensity at the given point in time t.

${E(t)} = {\frac{1}{N}{\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{N}\;{\underset{\_}{Y}\left( {\omega_{n},t} \right)}}}$

The summation is executed on a processor by the addition of all integeror floating point numbers in the array of audio activations for thegiven point in time, divided by the total number of elements, which isequal to the number of frequency windows, or principal windows or othertype of division of the audio decomposition.

The average audio intensity can be transformed to a color point byinterpolating along an intersection of the color space. In other words,the average audio intensity selects a value along some color spectrum,S(x), where x is an interpolation variable. Examples of color spectrumsinclude:

Blue-green-red: the blue element of the RGB vector is 255 or near itsmaximum at low values of the interpolation variable x, and the green andred elements are zero. For increasing x, the blue element decreasesmonotonically, while the green element increases monotonically. At anintermediate value of x, the green element reaches 255 or near itsmaximum, while both the blue and red elements are at zero or close tozero. For further increases to x, the green element decreasesmonotonically and the red element increases monotonically until at highvalues of x the red element reaches 255 or near its maximum, while bothblue and green elements are at zero or close to zero. For even highervalues of x, the RGB element remains constant at maximum value for red,and zero or close to zero values for blue and green elements.

Blue-red: the blue element of the RGB vector is 255 or near its maximumat low values of x. Unlike the blue-green-red spectrum, the greenelement is zero for all value of x, and instead it is the red element,which increases as the blue value decreases with increasing x. As aconsequence, at intermediate values of x, the output color is a shade ofpurple, which is a color absent from the blue-green-red spectrum, asdefined above. For even higher values of x, the RGB element remainsconstant at maximum value for red, and zero or close to zero values forblue and green elements.

Sunset: a black-body radiator generates light along a one-dimensionalsegment of the color space, ranging from deep red at low surfacetemperatures to cool-white at high temperatures, and warm-white attemperatures in between. As the sun sets it creates light very close toa black-body radiator that is cooling down from high temperatures. TheRGB elements can hence be set such that at low values of x the colorpoint corresponds to a cool-white similar to sunlight as the sun is highin the sky, and with increasing values of x the RGB elements shift tocorrespond to a color similar to the setting sun until a deep red isachieved.

The elements in the light activation array are set to be equal to thecolor point obtained by using the average audio intensity as theinterpolating variable to any one of the color spectrums defined above,or any other one-dimensional intersection of the color space.

At the next point in time, a new average audio intensity is evaluated,and the visualization is updated.

With this rendering method, audio variations generate uniform changes tocolor across the entire physical light assembly, with constantintensity. This is a simple rendering, which does not utilize thecontext awareness.

In another embodiment of the rendering mechanism, illustrated in FIG. 6,the computation starts with the evaluation 1022 of the average audiointensity per sub band.

${E^{w}(t)} = {\frac{1}{{\Omega(w)}}{\underset{\;}{\overset{\;}{\sum\limits_{n\;{{\epsilon\Omega}{(w)}}}}}\;{\overset{\_}{Y}\left( {w_{n},t} \right)}}}$

where w is a sub band index and Ω(w) is a disjoint subset of the audioactivation indices of set size |Ω(w)|. These subsets can be divided suchthat low frequency audio activations are grouped together, intermediatefrequency audio activations are grouped together, and high frequencyaudio activations are grouped together. This division can be understoodas the bass, midrange and treble of the music or audio.

The summations are executed on a processor by the addition of allinteger or floating point numbers in the array of audio activations forthe given point in time, on the logical condition that the arrayelements are part of a defined subdivision of sub bands; the summedvalues are numerically divided by the total number of elements in thecorresponding sub band.

An array of integer or floating point numbers of size equal to thenumber of sub bands are obtained. The long-axis lane dictionary, a partof the geometry metadata 204, assigns to every lighting device a groupand an order within the group, as defined in a section above.

The average audio intensity for the low frequency sub band is used tocontrol the light output of the lighting devices in one of thegeometrical groups; the average audio intensity for the intermediatefrequency sub band is used to control the light output of another of thegeometrical groups; the average audio intensity for the high frequencysub band is used to control the light output of a geometrical groupother than both of the previous two groups. For each group a color pointis selected 1021 from a spectrum S(x), where the interpolation variableis the normalized group index. For example, if the blue-green-redspectrum is used, the low frequency group can be assigned the colorblue, the intermediate frequency group can be assigned the color green,and the high frequency group can be assigned the color red.

The intensity for an individual lighting device, D, in a group, g, isassigned 1023 on basis of its order index, k, and the average audiointensity for the sub band associated with the group as defined by thefunction:I(D,t)=[1+exp(k−γ·E ^(g)(t))]⁻¹

The equation encodes the following relations when executed on aprocessor or similar electronic circuitry: If a lighting device in agiven group at a given time, has a low order index, the average audiointensity of the associated sub band can be anything between relativelylow to relatively high, in order for the lighting device to be assigneda high intensity. If a lighting device in a given group at a given time,has a high order index, the total audio intensity of the associated subband can be relatively high, but not relatively low, in order for thelighting device to be assigned a high intensity; otherwise the intensityis set to a low value.

The reason for these logical relations is: if the value of the exponentin the above equation is a positive number, that is the order index isgreater than the scaled audio intensity, the function evaluates to avalue near zero; if the value of the exponent is a negative number, thatis the order index is smaller than the scaled audio intensity, thefunction evaluates to a value near one.

Other forms of sigmoidal functions can be used with the same effect,such as but not limited to the Gompertz function and the hyperbolictangent. The parameter γ is calibrated and in some embodiments dependson the maximum value of the order index in the given geometric metadata.Given the intensities thus defined and the color defined as previously,the light activations 201 are constructed, which describes for eachlighting device what RGB elements to display. In memory this is storedas an array of arrays of integer or floating point numbers, where atleast one element can be matched to the unique lighting deviceidentifiers, and with each such element an array of integer or floatingpoint numbers is associated with elements that uniquely define a pointin color space and a light intensity, which in some embodiments can bean array of three elements, see 201 in FIG. 6 for an illustration.

With this rendering method, three lanes along the longest geometric axisof the physical light assembly 103 will display in distinct colors barsthat move up and down depending on the intensity of the pitches of themusic; for example, a rhythmic beat created with a bass drum mostlyproduces a rhythmic motion of colored light up and down one of theplurality of lanes of lighting devices, while a soprano aria producesmotion and intensity of another color of light in another of theplurality of lanes of lighting devices. This rendering method utilizesthe contextual awareness, in particular what shape the lighting devicescreate as a collective, as well as how each device is positionedrelative the collective shape.

In another embodiment, each audio activation is assigned to a uniquelighting device. The assignment is done by order index, in other words,Y(ω_(k), t) determines the light output of the lighting device withorder index k. The order indices can be computed and stored in adictionary as described above, for example based on its relativedistance to the center of geometry.

The color for each device is assigned based on the order index by usingit as the interpolation variable for any spectrum, such as but notlimited to the ones defined above.

The intensity for a given lighting device is set by the associated audioactivation, in some embodiments following a transformation by amonotonically increasing function. In case there are more lightingdevices than audio activations, that is M>N, one or several audioactivations are assigned to multiple lighting devices. In case there arefewer lighting devices than audio activations, that is M<N, multipleaudio activations are assigned to the same lighting device, and theaverage of the audio activations are used to assign intensity of lightWith this rendering method, sections of high audio intensity lead tohigh light intensity of a plurality of colors, and sections with highaudio intensity in only a subset of the frequency sub bands lead to highlight intensity in only some parts of the physical light assembly, wherecolor and location within the assembly is determined by which sub bandis engaged.

With this rendering method sections that contain a progression ofpitches will illuminate only a subset of lighting devices, but to ahuman observer the light is stepping spatially outwards in thecollective shape of the physical light assembly and as the progressionreaches higher pitches.

In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 7, the average audiointensity is evaluated as above and a color is obtained by interpolatingalong a color spectrum 1025, for example blue-red, as defined above. Theintensity of light is obtained by linearly mapping the average audiointensity to light intensity. At the current time t, only the rootdevice as defined in the geometry metadata is assigned this color andlight intensity. The root device can be determined by any of the methodsabove, for example, minimum distance to the center of geometry of thephysical light assembly. The geometry metadata 204 also contains thecenter-out dictionary, which assigns an order to each device on basis ofthe geodesic distance between the given lighting device and the rootdevice. The color and intensity of the lighting devices that areassociated with an order index greater than the root device are assigned1026 as follows:

The color of a lighting device of order index k, at time t, is set tothe color of lighting devices of order index k−1 at time t−t_(S), wherethe previous colors are retrieved as an array of integer or floatingpoint numbers from memory.

The intensity of a lighting device of order index k, at time t, is setto the intensity of lighting devices of order index k−1 at time t−t_(S),multiplied by a factor, such as but not limited to 1.0, 0.9, 0.8 or0.75.

In the definitions above t_(S) is the time between updating the lightingactivation, t_(S)=1/G. The color arrays for each plurality of lightingdevices of different order indices are merged 1027 into a single array.In this array at least one element can be matched to the unique lightingdevice identifiers and to each such element a color array as definedabove is associated. With the corresponding intensities the lightactivations are evaluated 1029 and the integer or floating point arraysare transmitted to the physical light assembly 103. The memory isupdated 1028 with the array that defines the new set of colors, suchthat this array can be retrieved at the next point in time. In thisembodiment the audio at a given point in time determines instantaneouslyonly the color and intensity of a single lighting device.

However, by a set time lag, the audio determines the color of devicesthat spatially spread out from the root device. The geometric metadataencodes how the visualization will transition between consecutive pointsin time. In this embodiment of the rendering module, an extended periodof high audio intensity will color the entire physical light assembly inthe color associated with high intensity, in a manner where the lightappears to a human observer to be transitioning or radiating from asource at the center of the physical light assembly.

On the other hand, audio that consists of rapid periods of highintensity with sections of relatively low intensity between, such as ina music tune with a well-defined drum beat, will produce a progressionof light in the physical light assembly as rings of colors, which to thehuman observer appear to be moving radially outwards from a sourcedevice. The temporal audio variations over a longer period of time ishence reflected in the light pattern and in transitions of the lightpattern. The lag time, t_(S), can be equal to the time between audioactivation updates. The lag time can also be an integer multiple of thetime between audio activation updates in case the frequency of audioactivation updates is deemed to produce a too rapidly updatingvisualization. The lag time can be manually set by the user, or it canbe calibrated and set during manufacturing.

The lag time can also be set by secondary metrics that the soundtransformation module passes to the rendering module. For example, theBPM quantifies the general speed of the audio, hence the lag time can beset to decrease with increasing BPM, and vice versa.

This rendering method utilizes the contextual awareness, first withrespect to what is a meaningful source node, from which expanding ringsof color and light will appear to emanate.

Second, the contextual awareness is present in how colors andintensities are transitioning with time over the physical lightassembly, in particular such that lighting devices inherit color andintensity from spatially nearby devices.

Pseudocode Rendering Examples

In order to further illustrate the embodiment described above andillustrated in FIG. 27, as well as outline other embodiments describedabove, pseudocode is provided in Code examples 1 to 3 and described indetail next.

The pseudocode in example 1 represents a high-level software routinethat initially determines how the light device assembly is put togetherby calling lower-level routines that sense the physical connectionsbetween the distinct light devices part of the assembly. The array ofconnections is converted into geometry metadata, which can includeseveral types of data structures. The visualization is run by executinglogic at a set interval of time per iteration, as described above. Thepseudocode does not specify exactly how the time per iteration isimplemented, but it can be a delay function that pauses the executionsuch that the total time per iteration is equal to the desired duration.

A segment of audio in the basic PCM format is retrieved from calling thelower-level routines of the transducer. In case the audio is obtained asa digital file, this line is replaced by a function that retrieves andconverts a segment of digital audio. The audio segment undergoes a wavetransform. In an example embodiment this involves a call to an optimizedFFT routine, but other wave transforms are possible, as described above.The audio activations are normalized in one of the ways describedearlier in order to better map the physical wave characteristicsobtained from the wave transform to the psychoacoustical characteristicsrelevant to the human observer.

Based on the set of audio activations and the available geometrymetadata, one of many possible rendering routines are run to obtainlight activations. They specify color coordinate and intensity for eachindividual device in the assembly. This data is stored in a datastructure as integers or floating point numbers. This data structure issubsequently passed to lower-level routines, which execute logic thatultimately adjust the drive currents of the plurality of LEDs in theindividual light devices.

The commands are iterated until some interruption command is triggered,which can be generated by the pressing of a button in a control softwareinterface, or the physical removal of the transducer from thecontroller.

Example 2 shows pseudocode for a particular version of the function tocompute geometry metadata that is part of the pseudocode in Example 1.This particular version creates the center-out-dictionary.

The first step derives from the connection array an average Cartesiancoordinate based on all devices represented in the connection array.This average represents the geometrical center of the physical assembly.The Euclidean distance is computed for all devices relative this center.The second step is to find the device in the assembly that is theclosest to said geometrical center, in other words, the device with theminimum Euclidean distance. As defined above, this is referred to as theroot device. The graph distance is subsequently computed between alldevices and the one assigned as the root device. This step can use anyof the methods described in an earlier section. The dictionary can berepresented as a data array with the index of the device as an integerkey, and the relevant graph distance as an integer value associated withthat key. The root device distance value is by definition equal to zero.

In Example 3, pseudocode for one possible way to render the audioactivations onto the physical assembly is given. As input the functionreceives the center-out dictionary, as described above. This is an arrayof integers or floating point numbers, where each value in the array isa function of how much of the aggregate audio is comprised of audio ofthe associated sub band or sub bands or other output of a wavetransform, as described earlier.

The first step is to compute a total audio intensity, where the sub bandvalues are averaged. Since the audio activations are normalized from theexecution of a previous function, they can be assumed to be in mostinstances in the range zero to one. A light intensity is computed as aninteger or a floating point number obtained by a linear mapping of theaudio intensity. The mapping can be as simple as the identitytransformation.

The color is in this case constructed from a piecewise linear functionthat maps the total audio activation number into a triple of floatingpoint numbers each in the range zero to one. The exact shape of thefunction can vary between embodiments, but in the specific example inExample 3 the function works as follows: At very low audio intensities,the floating point number corresponding to blue is close to one, whilethe other two numbers are zero or near zero. As the audio intensityincreases, the blue component of the triple begins to decrease, whilethe green component increases, thus gradually turning the color intocyan. At intermediate audio intensities the blue component has reachedzero, while the green is one. As the audio intensity further increases,the green component decreases and red increases, while blue remains atzero. In other words, the color is gradually turning towards yellow andamber. Finally, at very high audio intensity, the color becomes red.This is one example, many others can be contemplated as describedearlier.

Based on the computed light intensity and the color triple, the RGB dataarray is computed by multiplying the intensity with the color triple aswell as multiplying the float numbers with 255. The latter factor isused assuming that is the value a lighting device in the assemblyinterprets as maximum drive current. Other values can be used.

Each device in the assembly are assigned an RGB data array based on itsdegree of separation from the geometrical center as well as the RGB dataarrays in previous iterations. Specifically, the devices that areseparated from the root device by one degree, are assigned the RGB dataarrays that were computed as described above, but for the audioactivations in the previous point in time (in other words in theprevious iteration of the while-loop in Example 1). For two degrees ofseparation, the RGB data array is the value computed as above, but twosteps previous to the current point in time; and so forth. Only the rootdevice is assigned the RGB data array computed from the audio intensityof the current point in time.

The final step is to update the array of previous RGB data arrays byprepending the current one. In the next iteration the RGB data arrayshave hence been shifted one step higher in the array.

Example 1

Pseudocode of the highest-level routine to process audio obtained from atransducer in real-time and map it to a geometrically characterizedphysical assembly of lighting devices.

# Analyze and represent layout connection_array =discover_device_connections( ) geometry_metadata =compute_geometry_data(connection_array) # Run visualization untilinterrupted while True: # Retrieve audio segment for most recent timewindow pcm_segment = transducer_retriever(time_gap) # Constructnormalized audio activations audio_act = wave_transform(pcm_segment)audio_act_norm = normalize(audio_act) # Map audio activation to lightactivation light_act = render(audio_act_norm, geometry_metadata)set_light(light_act) if interrupt_received( ) is True: break

Example 2

Pseudocode for the particular geometry metadata that define how farwithin the graph of connected lighting devices each device residesrelative the one closest to the geometrical center. The returned datastructure is referred to as the center-out-dictionary.

function compute_geometry_data(connection_array): # Derive distance fromcenter for all devices coords = compute_coords(connection_array)avg_coords = compute_average(coords) for device in devices:dist_to_center[device] = euclid(coords[device], avg_coords) # Set rootdevice and graph distance to all other devices dist_min =min(dist_to_center) root_device = argmin(dist_to_center) for device indevices: graph_dists[device] = compute_graph_dist(device, root_device,connection_array) return graph_dists

Example 3

Pseudocode for a rendering method in which color and light intensity isset by the total audio intensity, and the mapping of color and lightintensity to the devices depend on their proximity to the geometricalcenter, such that the closer they are their values correspond to a morerecent point in the stream of audio. For example, a drum beat wouldcreate a pulsating pattern seemingly emanating from the center of theassembly propagating radially outwards.

function render(audio_act, geo_data): # Audio intensity as averageactivations of all subbands audio_intensity = compute_mean(audio_act) #Light intensity linearly increasing with audio intensity light_intensity= linear_interpolate(audio_intensity) # Set RGB coordinate as functionof audio intensity red = min(1.0, max(0.0, −1.0 + 2.0 *audio_intensity)) green = min(max(0.0, 2.0 − 2.0 * audio_intensity),max(0.0, 2.0 * audio_intensity)) blue = min(1.0, max(0.0, 1.0 − 2.0 *audio_intensity)) rgb_coord = [red, green, blue] # Set RGB value forcurrent audio frame rgb_current = 255 * light_intensity * rgb_coord #Propagate RGB value outwards from center for device in devices: ifgeo_data[device] == 0 then light_acts[device] = rgb_current else thenlight_acts[device] = get_previous_rgb(geo_data[device]) # Prepend arrayof previous RGB values with current RGB valueupdate_previous_rgb(rgb_current) return light_actsLight Activation Control Examples

In another embodiment the audio activations are transformed intoparameters to stochastic variables that determine the evolution of thelight pattern. The light visualization and its evolution will in theseembodiments reflect the audio in a more abstract sense than what aproportional relation between audio activations and light activationscreates.

In one such embodiment there are two colors, called the background colorand object color, picked as two distinct points from a color spectrum,and stored in memory as two arrays of integer or floating point numbersthat define a point in the RGB space, or any other representation of thecolor space. All lighting devices except one are assigned RGB elementsthat correspond to the background color. The one remaining lightingdevice is assigned RGB elements that correspond to the object color. Theintensity is set to a constant for all lighting devices. Every instancethe light activations are updated, that is once every 1/G seconds, thefollowing logical and arithmetic operations are executed on a processoror similar electronic circuitry.

The average audio intensity is evaluated, E(t), executed on a processoras described above for another embodiment.

A positive random number, v, is drawn from a distribution, such as auniform, Gaussian or Poisson distribution. This is implemented followingany algorithm known in the art to obtain a pseudo-random number orrandom number by a finite set of logical and arithmetic evaluations on aprocessor.

If E(t)<v the light activations are set to be identical to the lightactivations in the previous point in time, t−t_(S).

If on the other hand E(t)≥v one neighbor lighting device to the lightingdevice assigned the object color is randomly selected, where theneighbor information is available in the graph connectivity datacomputed by the geometry module, and available in memory as an array ofinteger or floating point numbers. The randomly selected lighting deviceis assigned RGB elements that correspond to the object color, and thelighting device which in the previous point in time, t−t_(S), wasassigned these RGB elements are set to RGB elements that correspond tothe background color.

This embodiment of the rendering module can produce a visualization ofan apparent object of light that is moving in random directions atrandom speed through the physical light assembly, where the speed atwhich the apparent object of light is moving is on average slow insections of low audio intensity, and on average quick in sections ofhigh audio intensity.

The background and object color, or only one of the two, can also beevolving randomly. The interpolation variable in a given spectrum canevolve such that a step towards higher values is more probable in casethe audio is predominantly of high pitch, and conversely in case theaudio is predominantly of low pitch. A related embodiment computes theaverage audio intensity per sub band and apply the identical logic asabove to a plurality of independent apparent objects of light. In otherwords, it is the first of the integer or floating point numbers in thearray of average audio intensities per sub band, which sets theprobability of transition for the first apparent object of light, andthe second of the integer or floating point numbers in the array ofaverage audio intensities per sub band, which sets the probability oftransition for the second apparent object of light, and so on for allelements in the array of average audio intensities per sub band. In thisembodiment, audio of mostly one pitch will create an apparent motion ofone object of light at high speed while the other apparent objects oflight transition between lighting devices at low speed.

The above embodiments are a particular form of a random walk, awell-studied mathematical object. Other particular variants of a randomwalk can be used to govern the spatial or optical transitions of theapparent objects of light and the background. The context awareness isrequired in order to make the evolution of light activations appear as achanging visualization to the human observer where one and the sameobject is moving in a background of color, rather than as a randomswitching of color of a plurality of individual lighting devices.

In some embodiments the rendering module employs the secondary metric,such as audio mood or genre, obtained as described in a previoussection. The audio mood is mapped to a color, either from a lookuptable, which tabulates associations between mood and color, or from theinterpolation of a particular spectrum, with the interpolation variablebeing an ordered strength of the mood or emotion. The mood is expectedto be constant for a given music tune, or at least a significant portionthereof, hence the color is constant as the tune, or at least asignificant portion thereof, plays as well. The intensity variationsover time can be set in a number of ways either identical to theembodiments described so far, or where the interpolation variable for agiven color spectrum instead adjusts the intensity. In a specificembodiment the average audio intensity is evaluated E(t). The intensityof light is obtained by linearly mapping E(t) to light intensity.

At the current time t, only the root device as defined in the geometrymetadata is assigned this intensity. The root device can be determinedby any of the methods above, for example, minimum distance to center ofgeometry of the physical light assembly. Furthermore, the geometrymetadata contains the center-out dictionary, which assigns an order toeach device on basis of number of edges in the connectivity graph thatseparates the given lighting device from the root device on the shortestpath between them.

The intensity of the lighting devices one order index or greater fromthe root device is assigned as follows: A lighting device of order indexk, at time t, is set to the intensity of lighting devices of order indexk−1 at time t−t_(S), multiplied by a factor such as but not limited to1.0, 0.9, 0.8 or 0.75. In the definitions above t_(S) is the timebetween updating the lighting activation, t_(S)=1/G. In this embodimentthe audio at a given point in time determines the intensity of a singledevice. However, by a set time lag, the audio determines how theintensity of the color, set by the mapping of the music mood, spreadsout from the root device.

In another embodiment, the left and right parts of stereophonic audioare processed in parallel by the sound transformation module by any ofthe methods described above, and two sets of audio activations aretransmitted to the rendering module. The geometry metadata can beconfigured such that the lighting devices are separated into two groups.

These can be obtained by the user installing the lighting devices in ashape similar to a dumbbell where the two dominant clusters of lightingdevices are situated above the left and right audio speakers,respectively. The audio activations that derive from the left audiotrack are used in the rendering module to create light activations forthe first geometric group; the audio activations that derive from theright audio track are used in the rendering module to create lightactivations for the second geometric group. For a given group, the RGBelements and intensity can be set according to a method described above,for example by evaluating the average audio intensity for the giventrack and map it to a color by interpolating along a color spectrum, andan intensity either set to a constant or set to be proportional to theaverage audio intensity.

This rendering method reflects the spatial qualities of stereophonicaudio in the spatial arrangement of the physical light assembly.

Further Non-Limiting Illustrative Embodiments

The method to create a contextually aware visualization of audiodescribed herein can be implemented in many different ways with respectto computing, transmission and display hardware.

In this section, illustrative embodiments are described with respect tothe hardware that can be used to construct a physical embodiment of theabove example method. Other example hardware embodiments arecontemplated.

The data flow and processing described above and illustrated in anexample 2100 shown at FIG. 21, FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 are illustrative ofsystems and corresponding flows 2200, 2300 that can be implementedfollowing the design principle of separation of concerns (SoC), suchthat the sound pre-processing module 104 and the sound transformationmodule 101 require no information on the physical light assembly 303,instead they only require information on the audio data, such as if itis in the form of a mechanical wave 211 or a digital audio format 213.

Following the same principle, the geometry module 103 can be implementedto operate without any information on the audio, only with informationon the physical light assembly 303. The rendering module 102 is thecomponent, which through the audio activations 202 and the geometrymetadata 204 combines information on both the audio and the lightassembly in order to derive lighting control commands. However, theaudio activations and the geometry metadata can be implemented to beconsiderably compressed relative the raw audio and geometry data, suchthat only the necessary information in the form of integer or floatingpoint arrays of relatively small sizes are transmitted between modules.

Finally, the color to current module 111 is the only module, whichrequire information on the electrical hardware of the individuallighting devices in the physical light assembly 303. A number ofillustrative hardware embodiments take this separations into account.

In FIG. 28A a computing device 501 with a graphical user interface, suchas a laptop, desktop computer, or smartphone, is connected to theInternet through a wired or wireless connection, such as Wi-Fi, LTE orEthernet. Through that connection 601 a digital audio file is retrieved.

The computing device contains at least a processor and a digital memory.The computing device executes on its processor the logical instructionspart of the pre-processing module, the sound transformation module andthe rendering module. The particular light installation 502 is alsoconnected to the computing device. This connection can be wireless,where the protocol can be Wi-Fi, low-power Bluetooth™ or Zigbee™, orwired where PLC or a serial port connection. Through this connection 602the computing device sends the stream of integer or floating pointarrays that represents the light activations; these arrays include atleast one element, the key, that can be matched to the unique lightingdevice identifiers, and associated with that element an array thatencodes the color and light intensity.

Part of the light installation is one or a plurality of microprocessors.They execute the logic of the color to current module in order to adjustthe electrical configuration of the individual lighting devices as afunction of the elements in the light activation arrays, after amatching has been done between the unique lighting device identifier andthe matching element, or key, of the array transmitted from thecomputing device. The geometrical configuration of the lightinstallation is also transmitted 603 to the computing device in order toexecute the geometry module on the computing device. This is a simpleembodiment from a hardware perspective, since it executes most of themodules on a single device.

In FIG. 28B a computing device 501 with a graphical user interface, suchas a laptop, desktop computer, or smartphone, is connected to theInternet in a manner identical to the embodiment described in relationto FIG. 28A. However, the computing device is only used to execute thepre-processing module and the sound transformation module. The audioactivations thus obtained are transmitted 604 as integer or floatingpoint arrays to a separate computing hub 503.

The hub contains a processor and digital memory, and can receive datafrom the computing device 501 over a wireless connection or wiredconnection, where protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, Zigbee™,Ethernet, serial ports or PLC can be used. The hub can be a smart-homehub, which is designed to be stationary within the home, and hencealways in proximity to the light installation.

The hub is connected to the light installation through a wireless orwired connection, where protocols like the ones above can be used. Thehub executes the logic instructions of the geometry module and therendering module and generates a stream of integer or floating pointarrays that represents the light activations; these arrays include atleast one element, the key, that can be matched to the unique lightingdevice identifiers, and associated with that element an array thatencodes the color and light intensity. The arrays are transmitted 605 tothe lighting devices.

The execution of logic in order to obtain the electrical configurationof the individual lighting devices is identical to the previousembodiment. This embodiment separates the hardware congruent to the SoCof the software, as described above. The embodiment in FIG. 28C iscomprised of the identical connections and separations of softwareexecution over hardware, except the audio data is retrieved from amicrophone or transducer 504 rather than from the Internet.

The embodiments described so far all rely in part on computation done onthe computing device 501. In case this is a mobile device, thefunctionality of audio visualization risks breaking if the mobile deviceis removed outside the range of at least one of the wireless or wiredconnections. In FIG. 28D the control hub 503 executes the soundpre-processing module, the sound transformer module, the renderingmodule and the geometry module.

The hub transmits over a wireless or wired connection 605 the lightactivations to the light installation 502 in a manner identical toembodiments described above. The audio data is obtained either from amicrophone or transducer 504 or as a digital file through a connection601 to the Internet. The hub is stationary and can lack a graphical userinterface. Therefore the hub is connected 607 to another computingdevice 501 that contains a graphical user interface. The purpose of thisconnection is to enable a user-friendly configuration of the executionof the software on the hub, such as the Internet address to download theaudio file from, the choice of rendering method parameters, or tocommunicate a manual grouping of lighting devices.

This data is stored in memory on the hub, and retrieved as a given audiois processed. The audio visualization is in this embodiment notdependent on a mobile device 501 to execute the logic commands andarithmetic described above. Only the stationary hub 503 performs anycomputations as the audio is played. In particular if the hub isconnected 605 through wire to the light installation 502 this embodimentcan transmit the audio and light activations between software moduleswith minimal overhead that can be part of standard wireless protocols,which causes delays and risks increasing the synchronization error aboveacceptable levels.

In the illustrative embodiment that includes a connection to theInternet, it is possible to execute some modules remotely to the lightinstallation. For example, In FIG. 8(d), the sound pre-processing moduleand the sound transformation module can be executed on a remotecomputing device and only the audio activation are transmitted asinteger or floating point arrays over the connection 601 to the controlhub 503. In these embodiments there is an increased risk of transmissionoverhead that exceeds acceptable limits for the synchronization error.In these cases the audio can be batch-processed, rather than processedin real-time, and the entire set of audio activations transmitted to thehub, stored in memory, then retrieved and further processed inconcurrency with the audio being played.

Non-Limiting Example Kits and Components

FIG. 29 is illustrative of the components of a potential kit 2900,having configurable lighting units (e.g., panels) 29002, stencil paperfor aiding in wall placement/protection during transport 29004, acontroller 29006, one or more connectors 29008 (shown as male/malelinkers), a power supply 29010 (which, in some embodiments, can be partof the controller 29006), and mounting tape 29012 that can be used toremove-ably mount the lighting units on various surfaces. Thesecomponents can be combined together to form a system for controlling andcoordinating luminance from a plurality of configurable lighting panels.

FIG. 30 is a top plan view 3000A of an example connector 30002. Theconnector 30002 may have one or more interact-able elements (e.g.,buttons 30003 and 30005). Buttons 30003 and 30005 can be used, forexample, to control power delivery (e.g., on and off), transitionsbetween lighting effects, etc. In some embodiments, the layout detectionis advantageously utilized to cause smoother transition between lightingeffects. Various visualizations that can be cycled through, for example,may reside on non-transitory computer readable memory present on thecontroller (or in attached cloud storage, “hub”, HomeKit™ settings,etc.).

FIG. 31 is a graphical rendering 3100 illustrative of steps inconnecting the controller 31006 to a configurable lighting unit 31002. Aclose-up is shown at 31004, and this direct connection allowsconfigurable lighting unit 31002 to propagate electricity (and/or data)to other lighting units such that a single power connection from 31008,31010, is able to power an entire assembly.

FIGS. 32A, 32B, and 32C are example screenshot renderings 3200A, 3200B,and 3200C of different interfaces that can be provided. Each of thesedifferent interfaces can be utilized to control various features of thesystem and the lighting. For example, 3200A shows control of individualpanels, 3200B shows control based on a particular theme (e.g., StarryNight), and 3200C shows a custom color mixer panel.

FIG. 33 and FIG. 34 are renderings 3300 and 3400 showing examplecontinuous shapes 33002, 33004, 33006, 33008, 33010, 33012, 33014,33016, 34002, 34004, 34006, 34008, 34010, 34012, 34014. These shapes areall possible using various configurations of the configurable lightingunits. Embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods forlayout detection performed by a controller coupled to an assembly ofconfigurable lighting units. The layout may refer to a continuous shapeof the configurable lighting units in that the configurable lightingunits have a particular layout to define the continuous shape. Theconfigurable lighting units are re-configurable to generate differentcontinuous shapes and layouts.

If a user is no longer satisfied with a particular continuous shape, theuser can simply rearrange the units and reconnect the units accordinglyto create a new continuous shape (having a different layout). Not all ofthe units need to be directly connected as the units are able totransfer power and/or data to indirectly connected units. This allowsfor flexibility in power cord placement (e.g., to minimize the effectsof unsightly cords). In some embodiments, units can be put on or removedwithout switching off power flow, as the layout detection automaticallyupdates and maintains a data structure representative of the currentshape, orientation, and layout of units. This information may betransferred to the controller, for example, such that the controller isable to more accurately determine the power consumption needs of anassembly.

Embodiments described herein derive an array of integers based on dataindicative of coupling characteristics between individual configurableunits of the assembly arranged in a particular continuous shape througha set of one or more physical connections. Two potential assemblies thatare geometrically distinct apart from translation or rigid-body rotationgenerate distinct arrays of integers. Two potential assemblies that aregeometrically indistinct following translation or rigid-body rotationcan generate identical arrays of integers.

storing the array of integers in a data structure encapsulated innon-transitory computer readable media residing on or in communicationwith the controller.

The embodiments of the devices, systems and methods described herein maybe implemented in a combination of both hardware and software. Theseembodiments may be implemented on programmable computers, each computerincluding at least one processor, a data storage system (includingvolatile memory or non-volatile memory or other data storage elements ora combination thereof), and at least one communication interface.

Program code is applied to input data to perform the functions describedherein and to generate output information. The output information isapplied to one or more output devices. In some embodiments, thecommunication interface may be a network communication interface. Inembodiments in which elements may be combined, the communicationinterface may be a software communication interface, such as those forinter-process communication. In still other embodiments, there may be acombination of communication interfaces implemented as hardware,software, and combination thereof.

The term “connected” or “coupled to” may include both direct coupling(in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact eachother) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional elementis located between the two elements). In the context of the configurablelighting units, the coupling may, in some embodiments, include magnetic,mechanical connections whereby two (or more) adjacent configurablelighting units are otherwise connected to one another.

The technical solution of embodiments may be in the form of a softwareproduct. The software product may be stored in a non-volatile ornon-transitory storage medium, which can be a compact disk read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), a USB flash disk, or a removable hard disk. Thesoftware product includes a number of instructions that enable acomputer device (personal computer, server, or network device) toexecute the methods provided by the embodiments. The software productmay be executed by a processor of a controller, in some embodiments.

The embodiments described herein are implemented by physicalelectronic/computer hardware, including computing devices, servers,receivers, transmitters, processors, memory, displays, and networks. Theembodiments described herein provide useful physical machines andparticularly configured computer hardware arrangements. Controllablelighting is provided that can be reconfigured and rearranged, andembodiments described provide for methods of layout detection, control,power/data sharing, among others.

Specific data structures are provided to aid in the computation ofrendering and storage of layouts. These data structures can bemaintained over a period of time and/or periodically updated (e.g., bypolling) or updated in response to stimuli (e.g., the receipt of aninterrupt signal).

Although the embodiments have been described in detail, it should beunderstood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can bemade herein.

Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed, that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized. As can be understood, the examplesdescribed above and illustrated are intended to be exemplary only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lighting system comprising: an assembly formedby a plurality of configurable lighting units remove-ably coupledtogether using one or more connectors to form one or more continuousshapes that are reconfigurable through re-arrangement of the pluralityof configurable lighting units; each configurable lighting unit of theplurality of configurable lighting units having one or more connectablesubsections including at least an aperture for receiving a correspondingconnector of the one or more connectors; each connector of the one ormore connectors insertable into a first aperture of a first configurablelighting unit and a second aperture of a second configurable lightingunit, the connector including: one or more mechanical connections thatcooperate with structural characteristics of the first aperture or thesecond aperture to couple the first configurable lighting unit and thesecond configurable lighting unit; and one or more electricalconnections enabling a flow of electricity between the firstconfigurable lighting unit and the second configurable lighting unit;and a power source connectable to a configurable lighting unit of theassembly, the plurality of configurable lighting units electricallycoupled together through the one or more connectors such that the powersource is only required to be connected to the configurable lightingunit to provide power to the plurality of configurable lighting units ofthe assembly; wherein at least one connector of the one or moreconnectors includes circuitry for enabling data transmission between twoor more configurable lighting units; wherein the one or more mechanicalconnections are formed by frictional engagement of the connector witheither the first aperture or the second aperture, the structuralcharacteristics resisting shearing movement of the connector andpermitting movement along an insertion axis that is perpendicular to theshearing movement; and wherein both the first aperture and the secondaperture include one or more protrusions adapted to impart a forcebetween the connector and the first aperture and the second aperture,improving the frictional engagement to resist removal of connector fromeither the first aperture or the second aperture along the insertionaxis.
 2. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the one or moremechanical connections are configured to resist shear forces with aplane of the connectable subsections up to a threshold of irreversibledamage of either the mechanical connection or the correspondingconnectable subsection.
 3. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein theone or more mechanical connections are each configured to, responsive toa separating force perpendicular to the plane of the connectablesubsections greater than a resistive force formed by cooperation of theone or more mechanical connections with the structural characteristicsof the first aperture or the second aperture, permit reversibleseparation of the two or more connected configurable lighting units by auser.
 4. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the data transmissionincludes a signal that instructs one or more of the configurablelighting units in the assembly to change one or more drive currents toone or more light-emitting diodes of the plurality of configurablelighting units.
 5. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the datatransmission includes a signal that encodes audio retrieved by atransducer.
 6. The lighting system of claim 1, wherein the one or moremechanical connections are formed by magnetic attraction between one ormore magnets that are configured to move between discrete compartmentswithin each configurable lighting unit, and the one or more magnetsexerting magnetic force through each configurable lighting unit beingformed of a material of magnetic permeability nearly identical to airsuch that an attractive force is formed between two or more configurablelighting units in near proximity to each other.
 7. The lighting systemof claim 1, wherein each configurable lighting unit is a substantiallyflat surface of a transparent or semitransparent material shaped as apolygon; and wherein each side of the polygon are flat subsections thatform the one or more connectable subsections.
 8. The lighting system ofany claim 7, wherein light is injected into the substantially flatsurface by a plurality of light-emitting diodes; wherein the light isdiffused throughout the material of the flat surface by scattering; andwherein a subset of the scattering events causes the light to exit thesubstantially flat surface into an environment.
 9. A lighting systemcomprising: an assembly formed by a plurality of configurable lightingunits remove-ably coupled together using one or more connectors to formone or more continuous shapes that are reconfigurable throughre-arrangement of the plurality of configurable lighting units; eachconfigurable lighting unit of the plurality of configurable lightingunits having one or more connectable subsections including at least anaperture for receiving a corresponding connector of the one or moreconnectors; each connector of the one or more connectors insertable intoa first aperture of a first configurable lighting unit and a secondaperture of a second configurable lighting unit, the connectorincluding: one or more mechanical connections that cooperate withstructural characteristics of the first aperture or the second apertureto couple the first configurable lighting unit and the secondconfigurable lighting unit; and one or more electrical connectionsenabling a flow of electricity between the first configurable lightingunit and the second configurable lighting unit; and a power sourceconnectable to a configurable lighting unit of the assembly, theplurality of configurable lighting units electrically coupled togetherthrough the one or more connectors such that the power source is onlyrequired to be connected to the configurable lighting unit to providepower to the plurality of configurable lighting units of the assembly;wherein each connector is configured to further include circuitry tosequentially propagate electricity flow and control signals between setsof coupled configurable lighting units; and wherein the sequentialpropagation of the electricity flow and the control signals is utilizedto transmit control signals to and from a controller, the controllerbeing directly coupled to only one of the configurable lighting units.10. The lighting system of claim 9, wherein the sequential propagationof the electricity flow transmits electricity from the power source,housed within the controller.
 11. The lighting system of claim 10,wherein the controller further comprises a visualization unit configuredfor generating control signals including lighting characteristicinstructions for rendering one or more visualization effects across theassembly, the one or more visualization effects based at least on adetected layout of the assembly, and the control signals, uponpropagation to the each configurable lighting unit, causing eachconfigurable lighting unit to modify one or more characteristics ofillumination provided by the corresponding configurable lighting unit.12. The lighting system of claim 11, wherein the controller includes oneor more interactive physical elements which, upon actuation, initiate ormodify the rendering of the one or more visualization effects.
 13. Thelighting system of claim 12, wherein the controller includes anetworking interface, the networking interface coupled to one or moreremote computing systems; and wherein upon receiving one or moreelectronic instructions from the networking interface, the controllerinitiates or modifies the rendering of the one or more visualizationeffects.
 14. A connector for physically coupling two or moreconfigurable lighting units, each of the two or more configurablelighting units having a corresponding aperture for receiving theconnector, the connector comprising: one or more mechanical connectionsfor insertion into the corresponding aperture to provide stable physicalcoupling between the two or more configurable lighting units for athreshold damage or force level before separation; one or moreelectrical connections enabling a flow of electricity from a firstconfigurable lighting unit to other configurable lighting units of thetwo or more configurable lighting units, The first configurable lightingunit directly or indirectly receiving power from a power source; andwherein each configurable lighting unit of an assembly of configurablelighting units is electrically coupled such that no more than oneconfigurable lighting unit is required to be connected to the powersource when powering the two or more configurable lighting units;wherein the connector includes circuitry for enabling data transmissionbetween the two or more configurable lighting units; and wherein thedata transmission is a digital signal modulation, transmitted as a powerline communication adapted to operate in cooperation with one or moreelectrical connections between the coupled two or more configurablelighting units.
 15. A connector for physically coupling two or moreconfigurable lighting units each, of the two or more configurablelighting units having a corresponding aperture for receiving theconnector, the connector comprising: one or more mechanical connectorsfor insertion into the corresponding aperture to provide stable physicalcoupling between the two or more configurable lighting units for athreshold damage or force level before separation; one or moreelectrical connections enabling a flow of electricity from a firstconfigurable lighting unit to other configurable lighting units of thetwo or more configurable lighting units, the first configurable lightingunit directly or indirectly receiving power from a power source; whereineach configurable lighting unit of an assembly of configurable lightingunits is electrically coupled such that no more than one configurablelighting unit is required to be connected to the power source whenpowering the two or more configurable lighting units; wherein theconnector includes circuitry for enabling data transmission between thetwo or more configurable lighting units; and wherein the datatransmission is a digital signal modulation transmitted over abidirectional serial pin of the connector, the bidirectional serial pinbeing physically distinct to the one or more electrical connections. 16.A connector for physically coupling two or more configurable lightingunits, each of the two or more configurable lighting units having acorresponding aperture for receiving the connector, the connectorcomprising: one or more mechanical connections for insertion into thecorresponding aperture to provide stable physical coupling between thetwo or more configurable lighting units for a threshold damage or forcelevel before separation; one or more electrical connections enabling aflow of electricity from a first configurable lighting unit to otherconfigurable lighting units of the two or more configurable lightingunits, the first configurable lighting unit directly or indirectlyreceiving power from a power source; wherein each configurable lightingunit of an assembly of configurable lighting units is electricallycoupled such that no more than one configurable lighting unit isrequired to be connected to the power source when powering the two ormore configurable lighting units; wherein the connector includescircuitry for enabling data transmission between the two or moreconfigurable lighting units; and wherein the data transmission includesa signal that indicates one or more unique identifiers, each uniqueidentifier identifying the connectable subsections of the two or moreconfigurable lighting units at which the coupled two or moreconfigurable lighting units are connected.
 17. A connector forphysically coupling two or more configurable lighting units, each of thetwo or more configurable lighting units having a corresponding aperturefor receiving the connector, the connector comprising: one or moremechanical connections for insertion into the corresponding aperture toprovide stable physical coupling between the two or more configurablelighting units for a threshold damage or force level before separation;one or more electrical connections enabling a flow of electricity from afirst configurable lighting unit to other configurable lighting units ofthe two or more configurable lighting units, the first configurablelighting unit directly or indirectly receiving power from a powersource; wherein each configurable lighting unit of an assembly ofconfigurable lighting units is electrically coupled such that no morethan one configurable lighting unit is required to be connected to thepower source when powering the two or more configurable lighting units;wherein the connector includes circuitry for enabling data transmissionbetween the two or more configurable lighting units; and wherein thedata transmission includes a signal that instructs one or more of theconfigurable lighting units in the assembly to change one or more drivecurrents to one or more light-emitting diodes of the coupled two or moreconfigurable lighting units.
 18. A connector for physically coupling twoor more configurable lighting units, each of the two or moreconfigurable lighting units having a corresponding aperture forreceiving the connector, the connector comprising: one or moremechanical connections for insertion into the corresponding aperture toprovide stable physical coupling between the two or more configurablelighting units for a threshold damage or force level before separation;one or more electrical connections enabling a flow of electricity from afirst configurable lighting unit to other configurable lighting units ofthe two or more configurable lighting units, the first configurablelighting unit directly or indirectly receiving power from a powersource; wherein each configurable lighting unit of an assembly ofconfigurable lighting units is electrically coupled such that no morethan one configurable lighting unit is required to be connected to thepower source when powering the two or more configurable lighting units;wherein the connector includes circuitry for enabling data transmissionbetween the two or more configurable lighting units; and wherein thedata transmission includes a signal that encodes audio retrieved by atransducer.
 19. A connector for physically coupling two or moreconfigurable lighting units, each of the two or more configurablelighting units having a corresponding aperture for receiving theconnector, the connector comprising: one or more mechanical connectionsfor insertion into the corresponding aperture to provide stable physicalcoupling between the two or more configurable lighting units for athreshold damage or force level before separation; one or moreelectrical connections enabling a flow of electricity from a firstconfigurable lighting unit to other configurable lighting units of thetwo or more configurable lighting units, the first configurable lightingunit directly or indirectly receiving power from a power source; whereineach configurable lighting unit of an assembly of configurable lightingunits is electrically coupled such that no more than one configurablelighting unit is required to be connected to the power source whenpowering the two or more configurable lighting units; wherein theconnector includes circuitry for enabling data transmission between thetwo or more configurable lighting units; and wherein the datatransmission includes a signal that encodes for motion detection byperturbation to an expected radiation pattern.